Unfriendly Competition
by ShadowMajin
Summary: A money shortage in the Son bank account sends our favorite Demi-Saiyan to find work. With each failed job weighing down on Gohan, he only has one alternative to turn to: The 25th World Martial Arts Tournament!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, ShadowMajin here and with something very special. This fic you see before you is not my idea. I know, weird ain't it? Why would I write something if it wasn't my idea? Seriously, normal people would write something that hit them in the head.

Well, truth be told, this is an idea of the very talented Ms. Videl Son. I had stumbled onto her profile sometime ago and PMed her after that.

And then I preceded to hit on her like no tomorrow.

Of course, being the woman she is...

...shot me down at every turn.

So after having a .50 cal being emptied at me, I made the offer to write this story of hers, since she said she doubted she'd get to it.

Wait a sec, I think that's the other way around. Well anyways, after getting all her notes on it, I've spent the last few months writing it down, having her concrit. it, and voila! Here it is! I hope ya'll enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ

* * *

Clouds floated high against a blue sky as the bright yellow sun lit up the world. A calm breeze was blowing, causing the grass to wave as if controlled by strings. The most you could ever say about this place was peace, which though the eyes of a warrior, was something that was rare, yet cherished when ever it occurred.

"Hey, that cloud looks like a bunny!" a young voice cried out, excited from its discovery.

"That it is," a deeper voice said as it examined the cloud. "Take a look as this other one; it looks just like a head of lettuce."

"It does!" the young voice said again. "Do you think the bunny wants to eat it?"

The deep voice chuckled. "Well, from the way the bunny is moving, I think it does."

Watching as the clouds flew over them, two boys, one an eighteen year old, the other seven, laid on the ground, completely at peace with themselves. For as long as the youngest was alive, he had always done this with his brother; and every time he enjoyed it.

"Hey Gohan?" the little boy asked. "When do you think mom wants us back?"

"Don't worry about it Goten," Gohan answered. "We have plenty of time."

"Okay, as long as you say so."

Gohan took in a deep breath. Since Goten could walk, the young saiyan had taken his little brother to this very spot, always cloud gazing. It was one thing that he had managed to talk his mother into letting him do with Goten when he was really young. At first, she was reluctant to let her teenage son take her little one into the world but as time wore on, she had come to accept this ritual of theirs. It even got to the point where she expected them to be gone the whole day, just letting the day pass them by. Quality brother time she usually called it.

Taking in another deep breath, Gohan got to his feet, alerting Goten to his sudden movement. "I think it's about time we headed back squirt. Mom should have dinner almost done."

"'kay!" Goten said, leaping onto his feet and walking next to his big brother.

It was times like these a warrior always cherished.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Gohan asked surprised.

Sitting at the desk in his room, the teenager was looking at his mother in the doorway. It wasn't unusual that Chichi would enter his room whiled he studied, mostly to bring him a snack of sorts, but this time was much different.

"As you probably already know Gohan, we've been living off the money your father won at the World Martial Arts Tournaments," Chichi said. "But now, that money is running low and we won't be able to keep relying on it. That's why I'm asking you to get a job."

"A job?" Gohan said aloud as he thought.

"Normally, I wouldn't be asking you to do this," Chichi continued, walking towards her oldest son. "I originally wanted to send you to school but I'm not sure if we could afford to do that now."

"So how long before the money's gone?" Gohan asked.

"I'd give it about a year, tops," his mother answered.

The Son boy mulled this over before an idea popped into his head. "Okay then, I'll head to Bulma's to see if she can't help me search for a job."

"That's a great idea!" Chichi exclaimed. "I knew my little boy was smart."

Gohan smiled. "Thanks mom. I'm gonna finished studying this now and then I'll head out tomorrow."

Placing her hands on her eldest's shoulders, Chichi kissed him on his forehead. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Don't worry mom, I'll take care of everything."

* * *

Two months later and things hadn't gone exactly the way Gohan thought they would've gone.

After arriving in West City, the demi-saiyan had Bulma search the whole city for job openings that he could do for a reasonable amount of pay. Of the places the richest woman in the world found, a lumberyard at the edge of town looked like the best bet being that Gohan could use his saiyan strength there. It lasted all of two days when he had leaned against a stack of freshly cut boards, causing them to topple over and nearly crushed a few of his coworkers. Being considered a hazard, the saiyan was relieved of his duties and sent with two days worth of pay.

The next place he tried was being a janitor at a local middle school. With the cleanliness habits Chichi had force fed him over the years, this shouldn't have been much of a problem, right?

As you can probably guess, he was gone by the end of the day, due to his failure to stop an all out food fight not once, not twice, but three times. Apparently, word had spread around about the new janitor and the students took advantage of him.

These were just a couple of the other jobs that the young saiyan had occupied but in the end failed to hold onto. By the third week, he had become infamous throughout West City for being destructive and pretty much useless.

Taking that into consideration, Gohan and Bulma pretty much decided that West City wasn't an option anymore; thus causing them to seek employment in a city that hadn't heard of Gohan's track record.

Taking a blind guess, the two settled on a place known as Satan City, since it seemed to be far enough away to not have heard of his exploits. That had been nearly a month ago, and while Gohan had found a bit more success here, his misfortune followed him.

Already, the reputation he had made in West City was beginning to take root here, and considering he was on his fourth job, Gohan pretty much figured this was his last shot in Satan City before he'd have to go somewhere else.

Standing in front of the deep fryer of a restaurant known as Burger Land, this very thought was bouncing around in his head. Already, his boss didn't like him, his coworkers didn't seem to care what was going on with him other than causing problems for them, and to put the cherry on the cake, he had already had a couple accidents. He was out of chances after this one and hopefully he didn't screw up anytime soon.

* * *

Fire Engines stood on the street before Burger Land as firemen fired high powered streams of water into the burning building. Standing behind one of them as he checked out the scene, Gohan let out a big sigh. There was no way he was coming back to this place, that's for sure.

Looking at some of the people he had helped pull from the inferno, the saiyan finally concluded that they would be alright in the hands of these people and proceeded to sneak off when he nearly ran over a very tiny girl.

Well, she wasn't that small, especially from the way she carried herself. Standing in front of him though, well, she was at least a couple feet smaller than he was.

Dressed in a white baggy shirt and black spandex shorts, the girl had her long black hair tied in twin pigtails. However, none of that caught Gohan's attention for the piercing blue eyes of hers were slowly unnerving him.

"And what are you doing hiding behind a fire engine?" the girl demanded, voice full of authority as her hands rested on her hips.

Completely caught off guard, the best Gohan could respond with was "I-I was just checking out the scene. Saw smoke a couple streets down and came to investigate it."

"Is that so?" the girl said, taking in his appearance. "So you just saw smoke in the air and came to check the place out?"

"That's right."

"So do you have any idea what caused this whole mess?"

At that question, Gohan began to get nervous. He knew exactly what happened but he wasn't gonna be thrown in jail for something that wasn't totally his fault. So he did the best thing he could do at the moment.

"I don't have a single clue what happened."

The girl's eyes narrowed. Just looking at her face, Gohan could tell she suspected something was up, and to prove it, she asked "So you didn't go into the building to help anyone?"

"Right."

"Well, I find that pretty odd considering your clothes look a little singed."

Taking a quick look at himself, Gohan nearly cursed himself for not checking out his own appearance. He was just gonna have to cover this up too.

"So you sure you didn't go into the building and see what could've possibly started the fire?" the girl asked, an aggressive ring in her voice.

"Yeah I'm sure. These clothes always look like this."

"They always look like this?"

"Yeah, I threw them in a dryer and the machine malfunctioned. By the time I got them out, they looked like this."

"And how exactly does a dryer malfunction?"

'Damn this girl is smart," Gohan thought. Well, he was just gonna have to use his genius to explain this. "There was a bad circuit that finally went haywire; caused an electrical fire. I'm just lucky this was the only thing I had in there at the time."

Staring at him as she heard the story, the girl with pigtails finally conceded. "I guess you were lucky, but…but that doesn't explain that hole in your shirt. If I'm any judge, that was just made from a torn patch and incidentally, they seem to be from the logo of the Burger Land. Care to explain that one?"

Resisting the urge to take off running down the street, Gohan was working on a suitable excuse. He had torn off his patch shortly after getting fired, frustrated over another lost job.

"I don't know what you're trying to say Miss, but there was no way I was in that building. If I was, I'd be burned or have inhaled some kind of smoke. Since I am neither burned, nor have I inhaled any quantity of smoke, there's no way I could be in a burning building."

The girl looked thoughtful on that one. "You have a point there. I guess you weren't anywhere near this place when it was burning. Next time, why don't you try not sneaking around? That way we don't have to waste any time with useless interrogations."

"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Gohan replied, resisting the urge to let out a huge sigh of relief. He had barely gotten out of that one; anymore questions and he'd have to be spilling his guts out about the whole thing.

Suddenly, several voices cried out as the roof of the Burger Land caved in, taking the girl's attention away from Gohan, and redirecting it elsewhere. Using this distraction, Gohan disappeared, reappearing on top of the building across the street from Burger Land. Looking down at the girl, the saiyan watched in amusement as she looked around for him; eventually setting up a perimeter to catch him before he supposedly got too far. Too bad they were only concerned with the ground because now they'd be returning empty handed.

* * *

After a block wide manhunt, the girl let out a scream of frustration from her lack of results. It wasn't often that someone got away from her and she didn't like it one bit. Staring up into the sky, as she tried to subside her anger; something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Turning her head, her eyes widened as she saw the boy she was looking for, standing on the roof as he looked down on her. A few seconds later, he turned around and vanished from sight.

Immediately, the girl called out for a few policemen to check the roof of the building, hoping she'd catch her leading suspect. Unfortunately, they came back empty handed...again. "Sorry Videl, but there's just no one up there."

Growling audibly, Videl turned her back on the men and walked towards the burned ruins of Burger Land. That boy knew something about this whole thing, she was sure of it. If only she hadn't taken her eyes off of him.

As she stared at the ugly sight of charred wood and brick, something light hit her leg. Looking down, a piece of cloth was being held against her shin by a light breeze. Reaching down, Videl looked at the useless thing front and back out of curiosity, her eyes widening when she saw the logo of the Burger Land on one side.

From the shape of the cloth, or patch as it was, the pig tailed girl could tell it had just been torn off of something recently. If anything, it seemed to match the hole in the boy's shirt.

Looking the cloth up and down, her blue eyes came across something at the bottom; a part of a name that had been torn off with the patch.

The name: Gohan.

* * *

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	2. Chapter 2

"Hmph, must be a nickname. Who names their kid after rice?" Videl said aloud. Seriously, who would give such a name to a kid? A food obsessed family maybe? He must've been picked on a lot when he was in school.

Looking around the scene of the burnt Burger Land, Videl saw no more reason for her to be here. The cops and firefighters could take over the rest of damage control.

Walking off a ways, the girl took out a capsule, clicking the button on it before tossing it to the ground; a cloud of smoke erupting from the small thing. Once the smoke cleared, a yellow jet copter stood in its place, waiting to be used. Climbing in, Videl took off into the air, heading towards the hospital. If there was anyone that could tell her what happened here, it would be the people that were in the building at the time of the incident.

And from there, she could follow her lead on this Gohan kid.

* * *

"I'm sorry Ms. Satan but I really can't tell you what happened," the Burger Land manager said as he sat on a hospital bed. Though not terribly injured, the hospital wanted to keep all of the survivors there to be sure they wouldn't keel over from their recent experience, though it wasn't put into those exact words.

"Well, could you tell me what you think caused the fire?" Videl replied.

"To be honest, I'm not totally sure. One minute, everything was going along smoothly; the next, an explosion. If I had to wager anything from the rumors I've heard, I'd have to say a gas line to the stove caught on fire. How, I'm not too sure, but that's my best guess."

Nodding her head, Videl said "Alright, so can you tell me how you got out?"

A strange look came over the manager's face. "Out of everything that happened today, that's the one thing I can truly remember. I was surrounded by the fire when suddenly this strange glow appeared. The next thing I know, the glow picked me up and took me out of the building. I'm pretty sure that what ever that glow was, it was a person, since I felt a hand and body in it."

At this point, Videl was leaning towards the manager, her face full of curiosity. "Did you get a look at this glowing person?"

"I managed to get a look when he set me down outside. His hair was this golden blond color, something you'd expect to see from the sun. His eyes I'm not too sure about since I didn't get a good look at them, but if I had to give you a color, they were a greenish color, maybe teal."

After waiting a minute, Videl asked, "Is there any other description you can give me?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was wearing one of the employee uniforms. I'm not sure why he was, or who he was since the logo was torn off," the manager answered.

This part really interested the Satan girl. She only knew of one person that had a Burger Land uniform, one in particular that had the logo torn off…

"Just one more thing," Videl said as she pulled out the torn patch. "Did anyone named Gohan work for you?"

The manager frowned. "Yeah, I had an employee named Gohan. Wasn't really a good worker and was pretty much a loner."

"Did he come to work today?" Videl pressed on, ignoring the working habits of her mystery person.

"Yeah he did, but I fired him sometime before the fire happened," the manager replied. "But there was something odd about him. Strange things seemed to follow him where ever he went. Had to get rid of him for ripping the deep fryer from the wall."

That last part caught Videl's attention. 'Ripped a deep fryer from the wall? How could that be possible?'

* * *

"What happened?!" Chichi shouted as she saw a news report of Burger Land being burned to the ground.

Quickly, Gohan turned the channel as fast as he could, landing on a news story about the up coming World Martial Arts Tournament. The Sports Reporter was just going through a detailed analysis on how Hercule Satan would defend his title as World Champ, causing Chichi to let out a frustrated growl as her attention was diverted. If there was one person in the whole world she detested, it was Hercule Satan.

Using this opportunity, Gohan turned off the television. Having informed his mother of his recent firing, the news of the place burning down wouldn't work in the saiyan's favor, especially if he wanted to survive the night.

"It's unbelievable how these people think that Hercule is so great," Chichi said aloud, clearly irritated. "Somebody needs to show him whose boss someday. Maybe then I won't have to hear 'Hercule this' and 'Hercule that.' Doesn't anyone have anything better to do than praising him?"

"Well, someone will do it one of these days," Gohan said. "I'm gonna have to go to Bulma tomorrow. I'm not sure where we're gonna have to go to find me another job."

Sighing out loud, Chichi looked at her oldest son. "I appreciate what you're trying to do Gohan, but maybe you should look for a job in one of the villages around here. At least you won't have to worry about all those expectations the city places on you."

Thinking about that option, Gohan nodded. "Ya know, that's not a bad idea. I think I'll try that tomorrow. All the same, I'll have Bulma look into another city."

Smiling, Chichi walked over to her son and hugged him. "You really do try so hard, don't you?"

"Well, as long as we can stay here, I'm gonna give it my all," Gohan replied.

"We do have a bit more of the tournament money, so you could take a break Gohan. Spend some time with Goten. It's been forever since the two of you spent any time together."

Smiling a bit, Gohan was just about to take up the offer when something finally caught his attention. "Tournament money?"

"Yeah, how else do you think we've been able to live here for so long?" Chichi replied.

"You can win money at the tournament?" Gohan said again for clarification.

"Yes dear, I've said that plenty of times before."

A smile soon covered Gohan's face. "I think I know just what to do for money. Mom, I'm gonna enter the up coming World Marital Arts Tournament."

That idea, however, was met with an iron fist. "Oh no you don't Son Gohan. You will not be entering any tournament. It'll interfere with your studies and they've already been put to the side too much because of work," Chichi stated.

"But mom, think about it; the amount of money for winning the grand prize will not only keep us here for quite some time, but we could send me and Goten to college on it," Gohan argued. Well, staying in their home was definitely true, but college might've been a bit of a stretch. Hopefully that bargaining chip would work.

Fortunately, it took all of two seconds for that little bit of information to sink into his mother's head. When it did, she gave out a loud shriek. "Brilliant Gohan! That's brilliant! You're gonna enter that tournament and win us that money!"

Getting into Chichi's happy spirit, Gohan said aloud, "Great, I can't wait to tell the others about this."

This time, however, Chichi asked, "What others?"

"Oh you know, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillen, those guys."

"Oh no you don't Gohan. It's enough I'm letting you participate in this tournament, but I won't let you involve them."

Caught by surprise, the saiyan said "Huh? But why?"

Letting out a sigh, Chichi began her explanation. "You haven't trained in nearly seven years son. Like a good boy, you've been studying, unlike those friends of your father's. They're probably still training their hides off, so it would be best if we didn't involve them."

Thinking this over, Gohan had to agree with that logic. All he had done since the Cell Games was study and watch over Goten...and then get fired from multiple jobs. Meanwhile, Vegeta and Piccolo undoubtedly had gotten stronger; the others as well. If he was going to win this tournament, he was gonna have to do it without them to provide a decent challenge.

"Alright mom, I won't tell anyone."

Smiling, Chichi said "Good. Now head onto bed. We have a bit of money to last us until the tournament and I want you to train to get back into some kind of shape, not that you'll need it to beat all those amateurs."

Grinning, Gohan replied "And you know what the best part of this is?"

"No, what?"

"Someone will be putting Hercule in his place."

"Gohan, have I ever told you that you were my favorite son?"

* * *

A bit short I'll admit but I'm going on a preconceived idea and I'm gonna follow it until the very end. So with that said, some chapters will be longer than others, some shorter. It'll be a guessing game as to which chapters will be long or short so I hope I don't frustrate all of you with it.

To Ludy Cress: Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for reviewing.

To Brenthforever (or Sorry too lazy to log in): Lol, glad to make your day. Been having to make sure the chain gang that's after me isn't getting close.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	3. Chapter 3

Before I forget, I've got an announcement for everyone. The G/V groups SweetestIrony and Videl-Gohan are hosting a big event next month called GohanVidel Week. For a whole week, starting February 14th and ending the 20th, these two groups are asking for writers and artists to participate in creating Gohan/Videl fanfiction and fanart. I myself will be participating in it. To join this event, go to the Videl-Gohan profile on . There you will find a journal entry for it with all the rules and whatnot, as well as letting others to join in. I would give you the address for it but as anyone familiar with ffn, the site doesn't allow the addresses to be shown. Hope some of ya'll enter.

And now for the chapter.

* * *

Loud grunts could be heard throughout the mountain range, breaking the peacefulness that had existed there previously. Any and all creatures either ignored the cries as they did or could not do them harm; or they took off to find a hiding place, fearing a predator was in the vicinity.

Sitting on a rock, young Son Goten knew exactly what was causing the noise. Watching intently as he saw his older brother in the middle of a very tricky kata, the young boy was curious as to how Gohan knew it. It wasn't one that his mother had taught him, that's for sure.

Spinning around on the ball of his heel, the older saiyan lashed out a back kick before setting his foot back on the ground. Straightening, his right hand, the warrior swiped the air as if cutting it with his hand, once again going into another spinning back kick before dropping into a fighting stance. It was barely a moment later, that the saiyan began to back up, his arms flinging about him, doing intricate blocking patterns. To Goten, this look a lot more familiar.

While not being a very smart boy as his brother was, the youngest Son could tell a lot about a person's fighting skills, even noticing the change in someone's fighting style as he had seen his brother do. Though young, he seemed to have an eye for the martial arts.

But then, most people of saiyan blood did.

Suddenly, Gohan stopped his kata, dropping into a stance before relaxing. Who ever had taught him to do that didn't play around when it came to training.

"Hey Gohan!" Goten called out. "How did you learn that kata?"

Looking over towards him, his older brother called out, "Which one?"

"The last attacking one."

"Oh, that one," Gohan said, walking towards the younger Son as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "That was one of the first ones I learned from Piccolo. As you could probably tell, it was a different style from Mom's."

"Yeah, it seemed a lot more offensive than Mom's."

"That's cause Piccolo's style is a lot more aggressive. You really do have an eye for this stuff, don't you?"

Scratching the back of his head, Goten replied "Yeah, Mom says I got it from you."

Ruffling Goten's hair, Gohan responded "Did she now? Well, let's see if you can perform it."

"Perform it?"

"Yeah, got off the rock. I'm gonna teach you that kata."

"Really?! You mean it? Yeah! Alright!" Goten said as he leapt off the rock, running circles around Gohan.

* * *

"Hey Gohan?" little Goten asked as he and Gohan sat at the dinner table, ready for their dinner. "How do you win the money at the tournament?"

Smiling a little, Gohan answered, "It's pretty simple. All I have to do is beat all the people they put in front of me, and I win the grand prize."

"Okay…so do any of the other people you have to face win money too?"

Looking a bit thoughtful, Gohan replied "Only the guy I beat in the championship round. Otherwise, no one else gets any, at least that's how I think it works."

"So if I entered the tournament, and we both got to the final match, we could bring home both prizes?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"So can I fight in the tournament too?"

Gohan nearly fell out of his seat on that one. He wasn't too sure how strong Goten was at the moment, but he really didn't want to put his little brother in a place he could possibly get hurt. He'd have to try to head this little idea of his off.

"Well Goten, you have to understand, the people who usually go to these tournaments are usually pretty powerful. You could get hurt."

"But I've been training with you and Mom and you're the strongest person alive!"

"Goten, I really don't want to take you somewhere you could get hurt, alright?"

"But Gohan!"

A little headache was just starting to form in Gohan's head. He had tried to put his brother down softly but that tactic wasn't working. He'd just have to make a deal with him then.

"How about we make a deal then?"

Goten narrowed his eyes a little bit. "What kind of deal?"

Gohan had to fight back a smirk. "I'll let you enter the tournament if and only if you reach the level of Super Saiyan, okay? It'd really put me at ease if you reach that level and neither of us would have to worry about you getting hurt."

Goten seemed to think about this. Become a Super Saiyan? Who knew how long that would take. For all they knew, it could take a week to next year, and if it was next year, there was no way he'd be able to fight in the tournament. On the other hand, if he did achieve that level, Gohan couldn't deny him entry. Hmm…

"So if I reach Super Saiyan, you won't stop me from fighting?" Goten clarified.

"Yep, that's the deal."

"Okay then, deal."

Gohan let out a deep breath. That was one obstacle down. Knowing from experience, it would be well passed the tournament before Goten would even get close to that level of power.

Suddenly, Gohan felt a nice sized ki in the area. Reaching out with his senses, the demi-saiyan found out it was Krillen, most likely running an errand for 18 again.

Pushing that thought aside, the Son boy never gave it any thought as the ki signal disappeared.

* * *

The sound of crickets chirping was the only sound Videl could hear. Sitting at her desk in her room, the Satan girl looked over all of her information concerning the "Golden Savior" and the mysterious Gohan.

Reading from the notes she had made when she interviewed each and every witness of the Golden Savior, she pretty much had a basic idea what the guy looked liked: 6'2", a lean build beneath a torn uniform, golden hair, and green eyes. She even had a police sketch of the guy; the details coming from one of the women pulled from the fire.

Each description of the whole incident matched perfectly. In one story, three guys had been moving stuff in the back room when a sudden explosion threw them across the room. The next thing they knew, they were practically surround by an intense blaze when the Golden Savior walked through the flames, almost like a god of some sort.

Since they couldn't reasonably go through the flames, the Savior had blown a hole in the wall for them to escape; how he did it was a bit sketchy. One person claimed he had fired something from his hand, though neither of the other two saw this, so they couldn't collaborate with it. It did, however, confirm that the fire hadn't caused the hole the firefighters discovered and concluded that the flames couldn't have caused.

When asked if any of the firefighters could've done it, it was denied. Under protocol, they couldn't bust a wall down, due to the fire or causing the roof to collapse. Pretty much, that had solidified that the Golden Savior had made it.

Next, the Golden Savior had made his way into the manager's office where four more people, an employee and three customers, had taken refuge and were soon trapped. With no other alternative, the Golden Savior blew another hole in the ceiling, grabbed all four people, and took off into the air. About that time, the fire had reached a gas line in the kitchen, the line ruptured by the flames, causing an even bigger explosion.

As soon as the smoke cleared, the Golden Savior set down his armfuls of people and took off back into the air without receiving so much as a thanks.

Turning her attention from the Golden Savior, Videl began reading the information she had managed to gather about Gohan from the workers. Each description of his personality agreed with the manager's statement she had gotten earlier; pretty much saying that there was no way the boy could do what their savior did. However, one thing did stick out. From the woman that gave the details on the Golden Savior, a similar description of Gohan was given, only with black hair and eyes.

From the interviews, it was said that Gohan was called into the manager's office, where he was fired for pulling out that deep fryer, and then left the building looking a little upset. That event occurred not too long before the fire was started, indicating that this boy not only had a motive to burn the place down, but he had the perfect timing to do it too. Even the singed clothing of his supported this.

However, it was later found that Gohan had no part in starting the fire. Of all the people that were involved with the building, only one of them had suffered any kind of injury; smoke inhalation from the manager. Looking more into it, the smoke had actually come from a cigarette the he had been smoking, rather than the actual fire. From there it became clear that the manager had gone off somewhere for a smoke and had done it in an area he shouldn't have. When he tossed the cigarette away, it had fallen in a box of rags that was sitting next to a shelf of flammable chemicals.

From the report from the firefighters, this was the most likely cause of the fire, pretty much putting the blame on the manager. Videl didn't really follow up on the punishment the man received, but she thought a fine of twenty thousand zeni was somewhere in there.

Turning over to Gohan's work records, this part really frustrated her. Out of everything, this gave her the least amount of information when it should've been the one to give her the most. There were no phone numbers that she could call, nor an address she could visit; which was odd considering anyone applying for a job needed to put at least someone's emergency contact information. If there was anything that suggested that this mysterious Gohan had no need for it, a hand written note said something about a reference. Unfortunately, from all the paper work she had, there was no reference she could find.

About the only things she could pick up were his work history and the name of his mother, a Son Chichi.

From what she read about the work history though, it was rather entertaining. Apparently this guy was a bit of a klutz, getting fired for all sorts of things that seemed nearly impossible to do, yet he found a way to do them.

However, that did tell her one thing. The boy needed money, so he was sure to pop up when ever there was a chance of making any. She'd just have to keep her eyes open on job openings or a contest that offered a nice sum of cash.

When Videl moved to check on Son Chichi for some kind of information, that's when she hit her biggest lead. Doing a search for the woman, she had found dozens of articles that had something to do with Son. Not very helpful or insightful since most of those articles had to do with raising children. Fortunately, Chichi was a rather unique name, coming up with only a couple articles.

While there wasn't anything on a Son Chichi, there was something on a girl named Chichi and she had just so happened to participate in a World Martial Arts Tournament. Though a bit disappointed, Videl read the article anyways, always interested in anything Martial Arts related. It was there she stumbled upon the name Son Goku.

At that point, Videl had to do a double check. As she was well aware, Son Goku had been a previous winner of the 23rd WMAT, disappearing with the Chichi woman afterwards. While there was a possibility that these two could be Gohan's parents, the Satan girl had no solid proof that they were. Bookmarking the page, Videl continued with her read. Who knew if she could find out anything else worth looking into.

Scrolling down, there were brief descriptions of each fight and the combatants that fought in them, eventually leading to the match between Majunior and Goku. Reading the details of the fight, Videl had to say that it oddly resembled the same things the Golden Savior did; the flying, the light tricks, the whole shebang.

Leaning back in her chair, the Satan girl had to rub her eyes. There was no telling how long she had been at this, and so far she hadn't gotten much. Well, she could use a break to settle herself down.

Leaving her room, Videl made her way to the kitchen, walking through the overly large television room, where her father sat in his large cushion chair, dead asleep with some drool coming out of his mouth.

Shaking her head at her sprawled out father, Videl looked to the TV to see what her old man was watching before he had passed out. From the look of it though, it was possible that Hercule had fallen asleep a long time before and the program could've changed between then and now.

And that thought was correct as some news castor was talking about the upcoming tournament. So far the odds were in her father's favor, practically giving the man a 99% chance to win. Damn, the tournament hadn't been fought yet and they were already crowning a victor. Pitiful really.

It was then that the news castor said something that caught the Satan girl's attention. "Well, what can you expect from the winner of the Cell Games? This tournament should be child's play for him," the castor announce, posting up a picture of that dreaded day. In the picture, an imposing Cell stood, watching as Hercule stood unwavering before the creature. Well, you really couldn't say that it was a picture as much as it was a freeze frame. It was then that the castor brought up another freeze frame, one of the mysterious group of fighters that had shown up while talking about how no one knew how it was that Hercule had defeated Cell, except for these mystery fighters.

Looking at the frame, Videl nearly dove at the TV when she saw a figure that she could've sworn matched the description of Majunior. Staring at the figure, she could remember all of those freaky things he and the rest of those fighters had done that day.

Things just like the Gold Savior.

Immediately, Videl rushed back up to her room, getting back into her chair, and did a search for the Cell Games.

Once the search finished, nearly a billion articles had been pulled up. Looking through them, Videl finally found the one she was looking for, one that happened to have different frames of the mystery warriors, though it was more of some random person just cutting out the faces of the fighters and doing a crappy job doing so. Looking through them, the Satan girl came across a decent picture of the young boy that was there.

Pulling up the picture of the Golden Savior, Videl compared the two together, seeing a resemblance between the two that only grew stronger the longer she looked. A smirk began to work its way onto the girl's face.

If what she suspected was correct, then it was completely possible that Gohan, the Golden Savior, and the little boy from the Cell Games were one in the same. If that was the case, then it was completely possible that Gohan could show up at the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. With his evident desperation for money, it was almost a sure thing.

There were still more questions she had, of course, and the only person that could answer them for her was Son Gohan. If anything, she'd beat the answers right out of him the moment she saw him again.

* * *

To Brenthforever (Still too lazy to log in): Ask and you shall receive.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	4. Chapter 4

Turning off the television, Gohan let out a big sigh. For the last week, none of the news channels had let up with their stories of the "Golden Savior" that had saved eight people from the Burger Land fire. It was really starting to annoy him how these people just wouldn't let it die already.

At the rate things were going, there was no way he could show his face to the public, at least at the tournament. He looked too similar to his Super Saiyan form no matter which way he looked at it. True, he was just being very critical about the whole thing since everyone that saw him couldn't tell the difference.

Still, why take a risk at something that he didn't really need to risk? It'd at least make him feel more comfortable if he had a disguise of some sort. Hmmm, now where could he find something suitable?

Getting up from his seat, the demi-saiyan searched the house for anything suitable, not finding much, if anything at all. Looked like he'd have to get something from a store.

That option, however, wasn't very appealing. He didn't really have the money to go buy himself much of anything, so if he wanted something, it had to be free. It was a good thing the grocery store gave out free samples…

Unfortunately, a shop full of food wasn't the place to get a costume. Well, if stores were off limits, he'd just have to go ask one of the many family friends. Let's see; he couldn't go to Piccolo since that would alert the Namek to his tournament intentions. Going to Kame Island wasn't much of an option either since Krillen or Roshi didn't have much that could be used for a disguise. Bulma though…

Bulma was a definite possibility. If he asked her for something, she would gladly give it to him. It would be as simple as asking. The problem though would be the same with Piccolo; her picking up his tournament ambitions. If that were the case, Vegeta would most likely enter upon hearing that piece of news and that was something neither he nor Chichi wanted at the moment.

Walking out the door and taking off for West City, Gohan just figured he'd have to think of a reason to keep Bulma off his true intent.

* * *

"A superhero costume?" Bulma asked, trying to clarify the Son boy's request.

"Yeah, after working in the city for some time, I noticed there was a bunch of crime," Gohan said, supporting his idea.

"You'd have to be blind to not notice that," the genius muttered." "So I take it you want to try and help people out, right?"

"Exactly."

Giving a little thought to this, Bulma finally grinned. "Sure I'll help you out. Just give me a little bit and I'll get you all fixed up."

Smiling widely, Gohan replied, "Thanks Bulma, you're the best."

* * *

Flying over West City, the newly disguised Gohan couldn't help but smile. His little ploy to obtain the costume went without a hitch. Bulma didn't suspect his real reasoning for a moment, though he did feel bad about deceiving her. He'd have to apologize some other time.

Looking over himself, the saiyan could pick out his costume's features. Black spandex covered his body with a green gi top over it. White gloves and boots covered his hands and feet accordingly along with a red cape, which was flapping in the wind as he flew. The cherry on the cake though, was the orange helmet on his head, concealing his identity to all.

However, that was the only problem. According to tournament rules, no contestant could wear head protection, so the helmet would have to go when he went to the WMAT. He'd just have to find something else to cover his head with. Other than that, he was ready to go.

That was until he realized another problem.

He had specifically told Bulma that he wanted the suit to fight crime. If he didn't go fighting bad guys in it, it would become pretty suspicious to her and Vegeta about his deception. He just had to find a crime to stop then and he would be off the hook.

Changing directions, the saiyan began his search for some kind of criminal element and wasn't disappointed. A few blocks away, a bank robbery was in progress; well, not for long.

Reaching the scene, Gohan took in the situation. Cops were huddled behind their cars as a hail of bullets were being unleashed by two guys on a pickup truck. Using his ki sensing ability, the saiyan picked up two kis inside the bank, most likely robbers getting what ever money they could get their hands on, and two right by the door, shooting their guns at anything that moved.

Taking the initiative, Gohan disappeared, reappearing in front of the crooks, waving his hands in front of him as he caught every single bullet. As soon as the gun clicked, signaling it was empty, both robbers stared in wonderment as they watched an oddly dressed guy open his hands and drop countless amounts of shells.

"What…what the hell is going on?" one of the crooks said, still in shock.

"I have no idea, but it must've been a fluke. I'll get him this time," the other one said as he started to reload his gun.

He never got the chance to finish that action.

The next thing either men knew, the odd looking man was before them, his fist imbedded in the second crook's stomach. Time seemed to slow down until that robber went flying into the bank's wall, falling to the ground unconscious.

Turning his attention to the other man, Gohan said, "Give up now; you don't stand a chance at getting away."

However, the sound of feet pounding on cement alerted the saiyan to the other two crooks trying to make a getaway. Turning his attention to his right, he saw the two men making a run for it…well, they wouldn't be for long.

Using his speed, Gohan appeared right in front of both man with his back to them, his arms stretched out to his sides, clothes lining both men as they ran into his outstretched arms.

Turning around, the demi-saiyan saw the last robber getting into the pickup and starting it, attempting to get away as his friends before him. Frowning, Gohan thought he had proven to him that there was no way he was getting away.

Raising his arm up, Gohan pointed two fingers at the escaping truck and fired a ki blast; the blast making contact with the back right tire, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a light pole.

Staring at the crashed truck, the saiyan once again used his speed to arrive next to the driver's door; opening it to see the criminal falling out unconscious. There, that ended their reign of terror.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping caught the demi-saiyan's ear, causing him to turn around and see a crowd of people, along with the police, applauding his performance. Blushing, Gohan began scratching the back of his head…helmet out of embarrassment.

One of the policemen walked up to the costumed saiyan. "Thanks man, you really helped us out there. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up."

"It's no problem," Gohan replied.

"So…what's your name stranger?" the cop asked.

"Name? What do you mean?" the saiyan asked confused.

"Well, since you're all dressed up like some super hero, you have to have a name right?" the cop reasoned. "So what is it?"

Gohan took a thoughtful pose. "Gee, I hadn't really thought about a name…hmm…"

Waiting a bit patiently, the cop had to wonder what this guy really was thinking. Hadn't he thought up his name before jumping in to save the day?

"Hey, I got it!" Gohan announced. "I am the Great Saiyaman!"

A sweatdrop appeared on the policeman's head. "Great Whatman?

"The Great Saiyaman!" Gohan announced again, unaware of the bewildered faces of the people around him. "I have to go now but never fear! Where there's injustice, I'll be there to right the wrong and return peace to all who desire!"

Without waiting on any sort of reply, the Great Saiyaman took off into the sky, leaving everyone to watch his exit.

"That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen," the cop said, still watching the sky.

* * *

Flying over Satan City, Gohan was still feeling giddy about that stopped robbery. It wasn't everyday he got to help people out but when ever he did, it always left a good feeling inside him.

Looking down at the street below him, something caught his attention. There was some yellow sports car driving all over the place, narrowly missing anything that moved. Watching it for a bit, the saiyan had enough when he saw the car barely miss a woman with a baby carriage as she was crossing the street. It was time to put an end to that.

Disappearing, Gohan reappeared on the street with his hands on his hips, waiting as the car approached him fast. It was at the last second did the driver actually see him and tried to stop the car, skidding till he came to a stop a mere inch away from the saiyan.

"Hey man! What the hell are you doing in the middle of the road!" the driver yelled out, pissed from the sudden stop from his fun.

"In case you hadn't noticed, you were driving pretty carelessly. Would you try and drive a bit less recklessly?" Gohan said, not moving from his spot.

"What do you care?! You're just some idiot in a helmet and a cape!" the man yelled out.

"I…am more than just someone in a helmet and a cape," Gohan responded. "I am the Great Saiyaman!"

The driver just looked at the guy before bursting out laughing. "Y-y-your what? What kind of name is that!"

Anger showed up on Gohan's face. "Hey! I put a lot of thought into that name!" he shouted as he stomped the ground with his foot, cracking the asphalt.

That sudden action caught the driver's attention, along with all the nearby spectators. If this guy would do that to a road, what would he do if his foot stomped on his back? Or worse...his car. "I-I-I…" the guy sputtered.

"Now then, you take better care when you're driving or do I have to make sure you never drive again?" Saiyaman threatened.

"W-w-what would you do?" the man said, fear in his eyes.

"I'll make sure your car won't be able drive on these streets again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes, I heard you perfectly clear," the man said. "I better be heading home, you know, to make sure I don't hurt anyone."

Smiling, Gohan said "You do that sir. Have a nice day."

Driving off, the driver made sure to drive safely, in fear of having his car totaled.

Feeling that good feeling inside him again, Gohan took off into the skies, heading home. Today had been pretty good to him.

* * *

"You did what?!" Chichi shrieked at the top of her lungs, nearly causing her two saiyan boys to go deaf.

"Mom, it's not that big of a deal," Gohan said.

"Not a big deal? Do you realize what you almost did?!" Chichi shouted. "You almost got Vegeta to enter the tournament, right after I told you not to get him involved!"

"And he didn't get involved," Gohan responded. "I just told Bulma I wanted a costume to fight crime and even stopped a couple to not make her suspicious."

Chichi growled. "You don't need to be stopping crime in the city Gohan, you need to be training and studying. Now you have to go to the city every once in awhile to keep this thing up!"

"That's no biggie—" the saiyan began but was cut off by his mother.

"This is a big deal Gohan! Do you not want to win the grand prize? You shouldn't be taking unnecessary risks!"

This time, Goten put in his two cents. "What's the big deal mom? I think Gohan being a super hero is awesome!"

Gohan smiled at his little brother. "Thanks Goten."

"I don't care! He shouldn't have even let that cross his mind!"

This caused Goten to look a little downcast. He just wanted to help his brother out…

"Mom, everything will be—"

"Alright? How can it when you nearly messed up you chances of winning the tournament!"

"But I didn't so it shouldn't—"

"It does matter Gohan! Can't you see that?!"

About now, Goten was feeling upset. Why couldn't his mother see that everything was still alright? Nothing had gone wrong and his brother was helping people. Isn't that what their father had taught them to do?

Soon, the arguing between his brother and mother got to him. Letting out a loud cry, the little demi-saiyan shouted "Would you stop fighting?!" as a golden aura exploded from his body.

Watching with wide eyes, Gohan and Chichi watched as Goten's hair changed to a golden blond and his eyes to a green.

"Go-goten…you're…" Gohan began.

"…a S-super Saiyan…" Chichi finished.

"Huh?" Goten replied as he looked at himself. "I don't see anything different."

Getting up, Gohan turned Goten to look at the window where a faint reflection of himself was. "Do you see it now?"

Staring, Goten blinked until a big grin worked its way onto his face. "Gohan, Gohan, look at me!" he cried out, jumping all over the place. "I'm a Super Saiyan!"

Gohan grinned. "You sure are squirt."

Suddenly, Goten thought of something. "Hey, since I'm a Super Saiyan now, I can enter the tournament, right? You said I could if I became one, remember?"

Gohan nearly slapped himself in the face. How could he have forgotten about that little promise he had made? Now he couldn't argue with his little brother…that was unless Chichi objected.

"That's a fantastic idea!" Chichi exclaimed, destroying any chance of a way out of the promise. "With both of you reaching the finals, we can get both the first and second prize money!"

Well, looked like he had no choice now. Sighing, Gohan turned to Goten. "Okay, Goten you can enter. Tomorrow, you and I are gonna train you to master your new powers, okay?"

A wide eyed look came across Goten's face. "You mean it? I can train with you?"

"Sure am. Rest up squirt, we got a long day tomorrow."

"YAY!" Goten shouted as he made his way upstairs.

"Well, I think I'll be going to bed too," Chichi said as she began her way to her room. "Good night dear."

"Night mom," Gohan replied.

Walking away, Chichi went into her room and shut the door as calmly as she could before falling to her knees and wailing, "Not another one! My baby's become a monster!"

* * *

Videl couldn't help herself as she almost coughed up a lung. The air was so thick from all the smoke around her, she couldn't find her way out of it. Why she had run head first into a burning building was beyond her but she was here now. Now she just had to find her way out of it.

However, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and the next thing the Satan girl knew, she was outside the burning building, the arms still around her. Looking up, Videl gasped as she saw the Golden Savior looking down on her with his green eyes.

"You-you're the Golden Savior," Videl stuttered. The very person she had been searching for was now mere inches from her.

Letting her stand on her own two feet, the Golden Savior stepped back, his eyes still on her. Slowly, his golden self died down, leaving only Gohan, his now black eyes staring at her.

"I knew it," the Satan girl whispered. "I knew you were the Golden Savoir, I just—"

And that was as far she got as Gohan suddenly attacked her, nailing a vicious right hook to her face. As she stumbled backwards, a series of punches slammed into her body and face, never letting up until she had fallen to the ground.

Coughing up blood, Videl suddenly felt Gohan's foot slam into her gut, making her lose the air in her lungs, along with any blood that had started to gather in there. Looking up at her attacker, she was shocked to see someone else standing there.

A man wearing black spandex and a green gi top, along with a orange helmet and red cape stood over her. The man grinned down on her before flying off, leaving her crippled body to bleed all over the street.

It was then that Videl threw herself from her pillow, sweat dripping down her face and body. Looking around, the Satan girl saw the familiar sight of her bedroom.

Shaking her head, Videl put her thoughts together. That had been one strange nightmare. All it had done was establish a link between Gohan and the Golden Savior but that other guy, who ever he was; he was starting to bother her.

Getting out of bed, Videl changed from her pjs and into a pair of sweats and T-shirt. Leaving her room, the daughter of Satan made her way to the gym, walking into it, and proceeded to attack a defenseless punching bag.

Soon, the Satan girl had calmed down enough to put her thoughts into something coherent. That last guy in her dream, she was sure it was that new super hero guy that had been appearing lately. What was his name again? The Great Singing-Man? Well, something close to it anyways, not that it mattered.

There was something odd about him though. From what she had understood, the guy had appeared in West City to stop a bank robbery and then about an hour later was stopping some reckless driver in Satan City. But that couldn't be right; the fastest jet took at least three hours to travel that distance. Yet, the reports suggested otherwise.

What else was troubling was that the masked wonder also used similar tricks to the Golden Savior. It could've been possible that they were one and the same but then, it was also possible that it was two different people. She couldn't rule out that there could be other people out there that could do the same things as this hero did and the Golden Savior before him.

Unleashing one last roundhouse kick, Videl's workout came to a stop, the girl panting. She was just gonna have to figure out this link between these two people, along with Gohan.

And that was something she would make sure she'd find out.

* * *

To chris: It shall be an interesting ride, that I can guarantee. Hope I can keep you entertained with this beauty.

To Brenthforever (Oh come on): Funny how things like that happen. I've also had problems with trying to submit reviews. Keep favoriting stories instead. I must be getting old or something.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	5. Chapter 5

Fireworks exploded in the sky over a large island to the south. Large transport carriers of air and sea carried spectators to the home of the World Martial Arts Tournament. With a large fighting arena and stadium at its center, booths selling food and souvenirs covered all the remaining space.

"Geez, this place has changed since the last time I was here," Chichi commented as she looked all around her. "It wasn't this crowded with venders."

"Really mom?" Goten asked as he soaked in everything like a sponge. Never before had he seen this many people in his entire life. It was almost intimidating.

"Yes sweetie," Chichi answered. Looking at the crowd again, the mother of two wondered aloud "I wonder where the registration booth is?"

"It's probably by the stadium somewhere," Gohan responded. Like Goten, the older Son boy was taking everything in, though he hid it a bit better. Spending time in the city had helped in that regard.

"Well, only one way to find out," the Son matriarch said as she led her sons through the crowd.

It was then an uproar from a gathering crowd caught the Son family's attention. Though they couldn't see what all the ruckus was for, the older Sons were glad that the traffic in front of them was thinning. However, Goten kept his eye on the growing crowd and saw a ship on the other side of the group. From what he could tell, there was some gorilla or monkey getting everyone excited; so like the curious seven year old that he was, he went to investigate.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, which ever way you look at it, Chichi had noticed the absence of her youngest and spied out of the corner of her eye the little boy working his way to a large ship.

"Gohan, Goten's getting away. Go and get him," the Son mother ordered.

Sighing, Gohan turned and went after his younger brother. Sometimes that boy could be a pain.

Taking a couple minutes, the older saiyan spotted his younger counterpart scurrying around. "Hey Goten! Wait up!" he called out, his calls going ignored. "Come back here!"

Fighting the crowd, frustration building up, the demi-saiyan never saw the small girl working her way away from a large ship up ahead. It was the sudden stop in his movement and the consequential landing on top of the poor girl that alerted him to her presence.

That and the suddenly pain his cheek that told him he had just been slapped.

"Hey jerk, watch where you're going!"

Gohan immediately leapt to his feet and began to apologize profusely. Well, that could be putting it a bit lightly.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry."

"Hey Gohan, what are you saying sorry for?"

Jerking his head, and catching the attention of the girl, there stood little Goten, curious as to what his brother was doing.

"Goten! I've been looking all over for you. Come here, we need to meet back up with mom," Gohan said, hoping to leave this peeved girl who was glaring at him.

"Hey, I'm not done with you jerk. You knocked me without so much as an apology," the girl said, anger laced in her voice.

Grabbing a hold of his little brother's hand, Gohan responded, "I'm sorry I knocked you down Miss but I really need to get going."

"That's your apology? That's complete crap. Can't you do any better than that?"

At this point, Gohan was losing his patience. He had apologized enough to this girl; what more did she want? His kidney? Looking at her, the saiyan paled. It didn't take much for him to recognized this girl from the Burger Land fire. What the hell was she doing here?

Stuttering, Gohan tried to apologize again when the girl, Videl he believed her name was, interrupted him. "You know? Just forget about it. You're not worth my time. Get out of here if you know what's good for ya."

Taking this opportunity, Gohan took off, holding tightly to Goten. He wanted to put as much distance between him and that girl as possible. Hopefully, they'd run into Chichi and make their way to the registration booth without another meeting.

* * *

'That guy…he looked familiar' Videl thought as she started to move through the crowd again. Was it so much to ask that she wanted to sign up for this tournament? Avoiding her father's need for attention was borderline insanity.

Then something clicked. That guy, he looked just like that boy from the Burger Land fire. What was his name again? She had been looking for him for over a month and soon gave up when she couldn't find a scrap of information on him.

'Gohan!' rang in the Satan girl's head, causing her to look for the boy again, once again failing in her quest. Of all the places she would've met him, this was definitely the last one. Well, the first one if she remembered her initial inquiry into him. Just great, she had finally found him after all the time she had spent searching for him and he managed to give her the slip. Just her luck…

Suddenly, a burly arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Hey Videl, we got a photo shoot to get to," her father said as he moved her through the crowd. How he had snuck up on her was a mystery but she was really not in the mood to take a bazillion photos.

The day was just beginning and already her luck sucked.

* * *

"Well, this is it boys. This is where I leave you two," Chichi said as an overflow of tears ran down her face.

"Mom, we're just gonna be signing up for the tournament and getting through the preliminaries. You'll be seeing us in no time," Gohan said.

"That doesn't mean I can't worry about you!" his mother replied, obviously ignoring what her son had said.

Sighing, Gohan turned and started to walk off, Goten trailing after him.

"Be careful!" Chichi shouted after them as she waved a tissue.

"Gohan? Why is Mom acting so weird?" the young Son asked.

"Goten, I have no clue," was the answer. Turning a corner, Gohan suddenly stopped, Goten following his lead. "Okay Goten, I'm gonna get into my disguise. Keep a look out okay?" the demi-saiyan said.

"You got it!" Goten chirped before looking around the corner, keeping his eye on anything that moved. However, the guard duty would come to an abrupt end when a butterfly floated by, catching the attention of the little boy. With his mind diverted on the insect, Goten took off after the poor little butterfly, wanting to catch it.

"Well Goten, Bulma outdid herself this time," Gohan said as he came walking to the corner. Thanks to that watch, it didn't take too long for him to become his alter ego that was verging on becoming a celebrity. Though this time around, he had gotten rid of the orange helmet and now had a white bandana tied to his head and sunglasses over his eyes.

However, when the saiyan rounded the corner, he ran into someone that clearly wasn't his little brother. Instead, someone else fell to the ground and then promptly shouted, "Hey buddy! Watch where you're going!"

"Ahhh, sorry!" Gohan exclaimed as he moved to help his poor victim, a black haired girl. It was then that the Son boy recognized the girl from earlier, causing him to start sweating.

"Do you know how many times I've been knocked down today?" Videl said angrily. Not even giving the boy a chance, she answered her own question. "Twice, and you won't get off like the last one."

Shaking his hand in front of him, Gohan tried his best to sedate the firecracker. "Gee, I'm sorry Miss. I didn't mean to knock you down like that."

Growling, Videl shot back, "That's your excuse? If I wasn't in a hurry, I'd kick your ass from her to North City you…"

And that was as far as the Satan girl got. Staring at the man before her, something was nagging in the back of her head. The clothes this guy was wearing were really out of place, if not bizarre. However, a description of a man wearing similar clothing was going on through her head. She was just gonna have to follow that hunch.

"Say, I don't think I've seen you before. What's your name?"

Taking this chance to change the subject, Gohan pounced on it. "Well, I am known as the Great Saiyaman!" he announced with pride.

* * *

Videl couldn't help herself, not in this situation. She just had to let a smile she had been holding back out. It was almost like a second Christmas to the girl. First, she ran into the boy she had been trying to find for the last couple of months and now she ran into the mysterious hero that had been helping out her city recently. Couldn't her day get any better?

"So 'Great Saiyaman,' what exactly are you doing here?" the Satan girl questioned.

"Well, I'm here to compete in the tournament," the hero answered.

"Compete huh? But from what I'm told, you don't use martial arts. I'm pretty sure you use those cheap tricks that fake martial artist use."

Saiyaman seemed to be stumped by that. "Huh? Tricks? Fake martial arts? What are you talking about?"

"I mean those light beams you fire from your hands and the flying crap," Videl responded. "There's no way you can win against real fighters."

"Hey, I don't use tricks!" the hero protested.

"Of course you don't," Videl said as she brushed that comment away. "So could you explain to me how you can get from West City to Satan City within an hour?"

"You already know that, I can fly," was the answer.

A very wrong answer.

"Is that so? I guess I'll humor you with that and ask how long it would take for you to fly from Satan City to…oh, let's say the 439 Mountain area?"

That stopped the man right in his tracks. "The…439…Mountain area?"

"Yeah, you see, I figure if you can go between cities so fast, you must be able to travel from there to where ever you like, with that 'flying' trick of yours," Videl explained, a wicked grin forming on her face. So far, she knew this guy had something to do with that little Podunk place, the same area that Son Gohan was from. If her hunches were correct, it was possible that the two were one and then same.

"Besides, it's not like you're the only person with those tricks," the girl continued.

"Huh? You know someone else who can do that?" Saiyaman said perplexed.

"Yeah, a guy called the Golden Savior could do some similar things. You know him?"

The moment Saiyaman stiffened, Videl knew she had him. Not only did the 439 Mountain area register with him, but the Golden Savior as well. It was time to go in for the kill.

"You seem to be familiar with him too. So, could you tell me anything about a—"

"Gohan!" a young boy cried out as he ran over to Satan girl and her quarry.

Acting quickly, Saiyaman grabbed the little boy, covering his mouth so nothing more could come out it; causing the boy to squirm as he tried to free himself. "Hey, I'm not the food vendor little guy! It's over that way. Here, I'll show you!" and with that, the two took off into the crowd.

Not one to be undeterred, Videl took off after them but due to the sudden influx of people, lost sight of her targets. Though disappointed, the black haired girl had nothing to worry about. Saiyaman had said he was planning on entering the tournament, so she would have plenty of time to use him as her verbal punching bag. Casually strolling, Videl made her was to the registration booth.

Finally something was going her way today.

* * *

Making sure they weren't being followed, Gohan finally set his little brother down, who had a sulky expression on his face. "You didn't have to do that Gohan," Goten complained, furthering his sulk.

Gohan sighed. "I'm sorry about that squirt but you kinda came in at a bad time. That girl was getting too nosy about us."

Goten's expression changed to one of curiosity. "You mean that girl with the funny looking hair?"

Chuckling, the older Son answered "Yeah, her. I'm gonna need you to do me a favor squirt. When ever we're around people from now until the end of the tournament, I want you to address me as 'Mr. Saiyaman.' Can you do that for me?"

Nodding his head as a big smile graced his face, Goten replied "Yep." Then the little chibi launched himself into his brother's arms, hugging his torso as Gohan returned the embrace.

However, Gohan wasn't able to savor his moment with his little brother. Out of nowhere, Piccolo's power level popped up, alerting the saiyan. Still holding his brother, the Son boy tried to pinpoint where his master was, failing when the power level disappeared.

Odd.

Pushing that thought aside, Gohan released his hold on Goten and the two Sons set off towards the registration booth, and soon after the preliminaries.

It didn't take the boys too long to find the prelim. area, but when they did, they were nearly stunned. Hundreds of fighters filled the whole place from wall to wall. Men wearing everything from gis to wrestler outfits, to sweats either stood talking to other fighters, stretched, or mediated. Sizing up the competition with his ki sensing ability, Gohan smirked.

No one here stood a chance against them.

However, before the two boys could go mingle with the competition, a man with a microphone began talking. "Welcome all who wish to participate in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. We are glad that you all have decided to join us this year and wish you the best of luck. However, as you already know, only 16 people will be competing this year with one of them being Mr. Satan. Due to the large turnout we have today, we shall be performing the preliminaries with a test of strength."

As those words left the man's mouth, a large, bulky punching machine was unveiled, many of the fighters looking on with awe.

"And now fighters of the world, I present to you Mr. Satan, who shall be the first one to test the machine."

A loud ovation rang out as the man of the moment appeared. Standing in his brown gi shirt, white pants and cape, the World Champ let out a war cry. "YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!!! Hey there folks, how many of you want to wear this?!" Hercule cried out as he held his champion belt over his head. "I hope one of you guys is tough enough to try!"

Gohan slapped his hand to his face. The tournament hadn't even begun and already the guy was screaming for attention. Hopefully the clown would get to business soon.

Fortunately for the saiyan, Hercule did. Setting the belt down, the champ walked over to the punching machine and got into a stance. After a couple of seconds, a low hum could be heard coming from Hercule. Then with a cry, the man threw his hardest punch, the machine going crazy as it calculated the strength behind the attack.

Finally a bell sounded off as the number 137 appeared, causing another uproar. "One hundred thirty seven points?! That's a new record!" the announcer cried out.

Panting a little, Hercule straightened himself out before walking over and picking up his championship belt. Before leaving he said one last thing. "I hope a few of ya'll can break a hundred, so we can at least have a decent match." With that said, the champ took his leave.

And with that, the monks of the WMAT began calling out numbers so the fighters could put their strength to the test. Nothing of serious note occurred until Videl's number was called.

Many men began cat calling and whistling as the daughter of Satan approached the machine, though she ignored all of it. Going to a school of horny teenage boys was enough preparation for any kind of hounding.

Not wasting much time, Videl launched her strongest punch at the machine and then waited as the calculations were being done.

When the number 135 popped up, a deadly silence filled the crowd. How could a high school girl be capable of such a number?

Videl though, couldn't have been happier. She was catching up to her dad and maybe in a few years more time, surpass him in strength.

Once again the mundane process continued as fighters were called to test their strength. Finally though, Gohan's turn came up.

Standing in front of the machine, the snickers of the other fighters making fun of his costume hovering in the back ground, Gohan readied himself to try and "tap" the machine. Any decent punch of his would've destroyed the machine and that was something he didn't need.

With the flick of his wrist, his knuckles touched the bumper. Looking up at the screen to see what his number would be, the oddly dressed saiyan paled. He hadn't meant to use that much strength.

Once again the crowd fell into a hushed silence as the number 473 shown. However, there was one person that Gohan was sure of that wasn't completely stunned and that person was currently glaring at the back of his head.

Kami just put him out of his misery now.

"There…must've been a glitch in the calibrator," one of the monks said before looking into the machine and adjusted it. "Could you please punch again sir?"

Nodding, Gohan readied himself for his second try, this time without the snarky remarks about his clothes. Once again tapping the bumper, his second test did much better, though it didn't shake the ever watching eyes from him.

"One hundred and fifty six points," the man with the mike said. "I think this man is definitely in the tournament."

Giving a nervous smile, the demi-saiyan moved back into the crowd and waited for Goten to have his turn, which came up after two more fighters.

Walking up to the machine with the biggest smile on his face, the younger saiyan was ready to qualify, just like his brother. Pulling his arm back, the little chibi let the punch fly.

* * *

It was loud and awful sounding. One moment, Videl had her eye fixated on the mysterious Saiyaman, the next she was looking at the source of the sound as the punching machine was annihilated, its destroyed remains smoking up against a wall. Curious to see the fighter with that kind of strength, the daughter of Satan was in for the surprise of her life.

There, standing where the machine use to be, a little boy with wild hair stood, his arm raised as if he had thrown a punch. But…there was no way…

Suddenly, Saiyaman was by the boy's side, grabbing a hold of his hand. With a few words spoken to the closest monk and what looked like a confirmation of something, the hero and boy left, heading towards the area that the tournament participants would be held.

So that confirmed the little boy had actually blown up that machine; otherwise, that kid wouldn't be allowed in that part of the stadium.

But Videl wouldn't let those two get very far. She had more questions on her mind than she liked and there was only one guy who could answer them.

With that in mind, the Satan girl took off after the two qualifiers, determined to hunt them down.

Unfortunately, the boys had a head start on the girl and soon she became lost in the maze of hallways with no sight of the two anywhere. Just great.

Growling, Videl headed back towards the preliminary area when she ran straight into the back of someone, falling on her butt.

"You know, they say that when two people bump into each other three times in one day, it's destiny."

Snapping her head up, Videl couldn't help but smirk. There was one of the guys she had been looking for, the Saiyaman character, holding his hand to help her up. And if she was right about what he had said, she was sure she had him in a pretty tough spot.

Taking the offered hand, the moment the girl was on her feet, she said "But this would only be twice today, right, Saiyaman?"

Scratching the back of his head nervously, Saiyaman replied "Yeah, of course…"

However, Videl didn't drop her smirk. With each run-in she's had with this clown dressing guy, it led her closer to the conclusion of Son Gohan's multiple personalities. At the rate it was going, she'd have him figured out by the end of the second round.

Suddenly, a voice cut the conversation short. "Would numbers 15, 27, 43, 52, 54, 63, 66, 88, 103, 104, 124, 169, 176, 201, and 208 please report to the finalist's area? Thank you."

* * *

"Welcome all finalists," the hair thinning announcer called out as fifteen fighters stood before him. "You all have made it to the first round of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. I would like to be the first to congratulate you on this achievement. Now then, we shall start the drawing so we can place you properly."

Taking a look at his clip board, the announcer continued. "Would Jewel please come forward?"

At the call of his name, a long haired blond man step forward. Wearing a teal colored, Chinese style shirt and pants, the man approached the announcer and monks, stopping before the table that had a green box sitting on top of it.

Looking at the hole on the top of the box, Jewel reached in it and began rummaging through its contents before drawing out a round ball. "Thirteen," the man said, reading the number on the ball.

"Okay, Jewel thirteen," the announcer said. "Next up Killa."

Walking to the drawing box, a black man in a green sleeveless shirt and yellow shorts appeared. Reaching in, the man pulled out one of the balls and said "Killa got numba six."

"Alright, now Spopovitch?"

A bulky man with long shaggy hair and a black, one shouldered leotard, stepped forward, grinning widely. Upon drawing his ball, a loud "Fifteen," was announced.

"Spopovitch…fifteen…okay, and now Yamu."

Walking past the retreating Spopovitch, a serious looking bald man approached, wearing only black pants and a purple belt. "Eight," he grunted upon reading his number.

Looking at his list after checking off Yamu, the announcer said, "And since Mr. Satan isn't here, I'll just draw for him." Reaching into the box, the blond man pulled out an eleven. "Okay and next up is…Videl."

Confidently approaching, Videl reached into the box and pulled out her number. "Sixteen…great, I have to fight in the last match," the girl grumbled.

"Hey, don't feel too bad," the announcer said, trying to cheer her up. "Somebody has to fight last every time."

That remark was greeted with a glare, though the man pretty much brushed it off. "Saiyaman, your turn."

Walking up, Gohan grabbed the first ball he could find and read off the number. "Twelve."

Many of the fighters put on a face of solemn pity. The poor guy had just been placed with a surefire ticket to an early tournament exit.

"Moving on, would Mighty Mask step forward?"

A tall man approached, completely covered in a white costume with a navy pointed hood on his head. Only his pink eyes could be seen from within the mask as he put his gloved hand into the box, pulling out the number 5. Then as quietly as he came, he left.

"Next up, Goten."

When the announcer looked up, he nearly had the fright of his life. There before him was the young version of the champion before Hercule, Son Goku. But then how could he be young again when he had won as a young man? It was then a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time welled up in him. If he was right, this would be a tournament to remember.

After pulling a ball out of the box, Goten immediately took off, running straight to Saiyaman. "Umm, can you tell me what this says?" the little boy asked him.

Taking the ball, Saiyaman patted the boy's head and said, "You're number one squirt. Maybe Kami's trying to tell us something."

Chuckling, the announce walked up and took the ball away. "Hey, perhaps this little man will win it all."

However, many of the other fighters just looked on with bored expressions. Why give a child hope when he wouldn't make it out of the first round?

"Okay, now for Pintar."

At that, an overly large man wearing Arab garb stepped forward. Reaching into the box, he pulled out the number 2. Grinning, the man aimed a devious look at Goten, who didn't seem to care as he kept his attention squarely on Saiyaman, smiling widely.

"Okay Rockie, your turn."

Stepping up was a hunched over boxer, boxing gloves on his hand and wearing only boxing shorts. However, he was a bit more comical looking as a black eye was sitting proudly on his face, along with a large pouty lower lip.

Pulling out a ball, he said in a rough voice "Four."

"Rockie…four…okay, now for Muali."

This time, a tall cunning looking man appeared. His dark skin gave him an attractive glow with his white pants and low cut yellow shirt, revealing his sculpted chest. Pulling out a ball, a deep voice said "Three."

"Next up is…Schmogan."

Another bulky man appeared, dressed in tight red pants with yellow flames, shirtless, and a red bandana over his blond hair. Just from the way he moved, you could tell he was a wrestler.

"Fourteen," the man announced after drawing his ball, handing it to the announcer before walking back.

"Okay and will a Li Jet come up?"

A Chinese looking man in a very loose robe stepped up. With a sinister grin on his face, the man drew one of the remaining balls, handing it over without much thought.

"Quiet as ever Mr. Jet," the announcer commented as he looked at the ball. "Number 7 for Jet," he mumbled as he checked the ball off. "Now for…Hulken."

"Yeeeeahhhhhhhh!" a cry came out as a bulky man ran up. However, it was his appearance that caught more interest. Completely covered in green body paint and green pants, the man looked like an alien than a fighter, though his brutish looking face made him look more like a fool than any thing.

Punching his hand into the box and grabbing one of the two balls left, the man let out another cheer as he loudly proclaimed, "Yeeeeahhhhhhhh! I'm number 9!"

"Thank you very much Hulken," the announcer said as he took the ball away. Looking at his list, the man said, "Well, no point and drawing the last one, Sharpner is number 10."

That last comment caught Videl's attention. What was Sharpner doing here? He wasn't that good of a fighter.

"Alrighty then folks, I need everyone to go into the fighters' pavilion and wait there until you're called out to fight. I wish everyone the best of luck and I'll see you out there," the announcer said before leaving.

Following his instructions, all the fighters headed towards the pavilion with Videl staying very close to Saiyaman. Unfortunately for the superhero, he couldn't shake the girl off even if he wanted to. They were heading to the same place, so there was no point in it.

Today was gonna be a long day.

* * *

Sitting at the buffet table, Goten was gorging himself with all the food there.

Upon seeing the table, the boy had given a loud cry of happiness before launching himself at it. Once there, the Son boy began devouring whatever he could get his hands on and had just slowed down as something more entertaining had occurred.

All around the room, Goten's brother was running around, that strange short girl following him no matter where he went. It was almost like they were playing a game of tag or something but the girl wouldn't tag out.

Maybe that was because his brother was too fast for her? Yeah, that had to be it.

Stuffing an egg roll into his mouth, Goten continued to watch the spectacle. Maybe if he was good, those two would let him play with them too. It was always more fun to play with more than two people.

* * *

To DJ: Thanks for catching that. I couldn't believe how many times I had misspelled that. Hell, I didn't even know Savoir was an actual word until then. Glad you like the story and hope it keeps your interest.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	6. Chapter 6

Leaning against a wall with one of his hands clutching at his heart, Gohan was breathing heavily.

It had been a full five minutes since he and the other fighters had entered the waiting room and the saiyan had spent every second of it dodging and hiding from his ever persistent pursuer. If Gohan didn't know any better, he'd say that the daughter of Satan had placed a tracking device on him somehow.

Suddenly, the demi-saiyan became paranoid. Giving himself a quick pat down, he gave out a deep sigh. At least now he was positive there was no transmitter on him.

"Hey babe, how's it going?"

Huh? Who said that?

With that question in mind, Gohan began looking around the room and came to the sight of Videl with this tall blond guy.

With a scowl on her face and her arms crossed, Videl looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was. "Hi Sharpner."

"Hi? That's all you have to say to your future husband?" Sharpner replied.

"Future husband? What are you babbling about this time?" the Satan girl asked, an air of hostility beginning to emerge from her.

Raising his hand, the blond boy combed his fingers through his long hair. "Well, I plan on defeating your father during this tournament and winning the privilege to go steady with you. And since I'd be the only man to defeat your father, it only makes sense that we'd end up married."

By the end of Sharpner's explanation, Videl's arms had fallen to her sides, her hands balled into fists as a look of rage was written onto her face. This boy had better hope he never faced her in this tournament because she'd end up disqualified for killing a fellow fighter, no matter how much a public service it would be to all woman-kind.

Meanwhile, Gohan just watched the exchanged as his curiosity built itself within him. What the heck was this guy talking about? It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Turning his attention to Videl, he could tell the girl was beyond the point of anger. Perhaps the saiyan should help her out at the moment and get rid of the guy.

Leaving his hiding place, the disguised saiyan made his way towards the two fighters, intent on preventing unnecessary bloodshed.

"So since we have time before our matches, why don't we both find a place for some alone time," Sharpner proposed, giving the girl in front of him a sexy smile.

The reaction he got though, wasn't what he expected. Completely consumed by rage, Videl swung her balled up fist, nailing the boy in the face, and sending him flying into the wall on the other side of the room.

Upon seeing this, Gohan froze where he was with a deer in the headlights look. That girl had some power behind that fist.

However, Videl was still seething over Sharpner's remarks. She was gonna make the boy pay for even thinking of such blasphemy. That was when the Satan girl spied out of the corner of her blue eye the frozen Gohan. Giving a quick look at the fallen blond, Videl smirked and turned her attention to the saiyan. "I see you decided to come out of hiding, Saiyaman."

'Oh crap,' Gohan thought. He just had to decide to come and help, completely forgetting that the girl before him wanted to dissect him in every possible way imaginable. And knowing her, she'd use them all.

"Ehh he he, I think I heard someone calling my name. Gotta go!" the disguised saiyan said before turning on his heels and going back the way he came, Videl hot on his tail.

However, that sight of the two retreating figures was seen by none other than Sharpner…and he wasn't pleased to see it. Nobody other than him had the right to have Videl chasing after them; nobody!

He'd just have to eliminate the guy if he ever faced him in the tournament. And he was sure he would beat him too; just as he was sure his hair was more expensive than gold.

* * *

Finally, after all the time and effort she had been putting into capturing the so called hero Saiyaman, Videl had the man cornered. Now she would get the answers she so desperately wanted and there was nothing that would stop her from getting them.

"Okay Saiyaman, enough running around. You're gonna answer my questions now, understand?" Videl demanded.

Watching as the hero swallowed nervously, he responded "B-but Ms. Videl, we barely know each other!"

Leaning up close to the man as she looked into his sunglasses, the Satan girl was unsuccessful in looking behind them. "I don't really care," she said as her hands began working their way to remove the glasses.

"ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE WORD MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT IS READY TO COMMENSE!"

A loud roar soon followed the announcement, startling the Satan girl. It was already that time?

As the cheering died down, the announcer said into his microphone "AS YOU ARE ALL AWARE, THERE ARE RULES IN THE TOURNAMENT! THE FIRST ONE: A FIGHTER IS DEFEATED WHEN THEY ARE KNOCKED OUT, THROWN OUT OF THE RING, OR ARE UNABLE TO FIGHT FOR WHAT EVER REASON! SECOND: THERE WILL BE NO KILLING IN THIS TOURNAMENT; WHO EVER DOES SO WILL BE DISQUALIFIED! FINALLY: EACH FIGHT HAS A TIME LIMIT OF THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE OUR JUDGES DECIDE A WINNER! NOW WITH THE RULES OUT OF THE WAY, LET'S INTRODUCE OUR FIRST CHALLENGERS!"

Saiyaman's head jerked up. "Goten's in the first match!" he exclaimed before he moved passed the Satan girl. Eyes widening, Videl hurried after the caped wonder, completely forgetting her close attempt at unmasking the hero.

* * *

"OKAY EVERYONE, HERE ARE OUR FIRST FIGHTERS!" the announcer cried out as Goten and Pintaur made their way to the ring. "PINTAUR IS A COMPETITOR FROM OUR LAST TOURNAMENT, MAKING IT ALL THE WAY TO THE SEMIFINALS! WILL HE DO BETTER THIS YEAR? WE'LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH!"

"FIGHTING HIM IS OUR YOUNGEST COMPETITOR TO DATE, THE YOUNG SON GOTEN! WILL THE LITTLE GUY PERFORM A DAVID VS. GOLIATH FEAT? THAT WILL BE DECIDED MOMENTARILY!"

As the two fighters stepped into their places, Pintaur let out a loud laugh. "Someone thinks that this little shrimp can beat me? Ha! He'll be lucky enough to walk out of the stadium alive!" the large man cried out in his Indian accent.

Goten, for his credit, let the insult fly over his head. Pressing his palms together, the seven year old bowed in respect to his opponent. "I hope to have a good match with you, sir."

Pointing his finger at the child, Pintaur exclaimed "It won't even be a match small fry! All I have to do is sit on you and you'll be in a coma for six months!"

Goten frowned. Why was this guy being so rude to him? Was he just too mean to be nice to him or something?

"FIGHTERS READY?" shouted the announcer. "BEGIN!"

Immediately, Pintaur jumped backwards, putting distance in between him and the little kid. As soon as he landed, the large man launched into a series of back flips, circling the ring in this fashion and confusing the little saiyan as he did so.

Finally, Pintaur landed a little ways away in front of his pint sized opponent, hands on his hips as he took in deep breaths. "So what did you think about that kid? I may be big but I'm also fast. You might as well give up since you stand no chance at beating me!"

Looking on with a clueless face, Goten asked "Is that what you were doing?"

Laughing out loud again, the large man said "I see you're shocked by my power! So tell you what little boy, I'm gonna give you the first punch of the match! Better make it a good one for it will be your last!"

Slowly nodding his head, Goten said "Okay." Putting on his game face, the little saiyan, charged at his opponent, his fist drawn back; throwing the punch that landed smack dab in the middle of the man's gut.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Pintaur cried out as pain ran throughout his body; his eyes bulging from their sockets.

Leaping into the air, the demi-saiyan swung a roundhouse kick that nailed the pain filled man in the face, sending him flying across the ring. The large man landed at the edge of the ring, but due to his momentum, bounced back into the air and flew head first into the wall.

The whole crowd went silent for a moment before a loud cheer began roaring throughout the stadium.

"HOW ABOUT THAT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN?! IT'S ONLY THE FIRST MATCH AND ALREADY WE'VE WITNESSED THE YOUNGEST COMPETITOR EVER IN THE WORLD MARTIAL ARTS TOURNMENT ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND!" the announcer announced.

Walking into the ring, the announcer bent down to Goten and said "Congratulations little guy. Head on back to the waiting area, okay?"

"Okay!" Goten answered before heading off to where the other fighters were.

* * *

Another short chapter, I'm afraid, but at least things are picking up. More tournament is on the way! That is if I can find it first.

To R: Thanks. I do my best

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	7. Chapter 7

After receiving congratulations from Gohan and a weird-out Videl, Goten had made his way back to the buffet table to stuff his face. In the meantime, Muali and Rockie had made their way into the ring and were ready to fight.

When the announcer gave the signal, Rockie launched into a barrage of punches. Mauli, however, blocked them with ease, slowly moving backwards as his opponent pressed on. "If this is the best you've got," the dark man said, "then the match is mine."

"We'll see about that!" Rockie cried out as he continued his assault.

Watching from the sidelines, Gohan grew bored with the fighting. It was obvious to him that Mauli had the advantage and soon the fight, especially since all Rockie did was throw punches. It was just a simple matter of wearing the guy out.

Suddenly, a high power level popped up, catching the saiyan's attention. Checking the ki, Gohan paled and nearly swore out loud. What in the world was Frieza doing here? That guy was dead already or should've been; there was no way he could be here! Yet the ki signal was very much his as it was very much in the room with him.

Then as soon as it appeared, it disappeared, alarming the demi-saiyan. Something was up, that much he knew. What it was though, he didn't know and didn't like that he didn't.

Looking at the fighters in the room, Gohan did a quick check of who could and who couldn't be Frieza, including Videl. Much to his aggravation, none of the fighters came close to Frieza's level. But since the strongest people in the tournament at the moment were the very people in this room, it couldn't be anyone else.

Closing his eyes and letting out a sigh, the saiyan knew he had some work to do. Well, might as well get some senzu beans, just in case things got nasty. If Frieza was around again, he himself would be enough to take the tyrant down; though you never knew what would happen in a fight.

Taking a look at Videl and was happy to see she was too engrossed with the current match to be paying attention to him, Gohan slowly slipped away to a more secluded place before taking off in the direction of Korin's tower.

* * *

"AND THE WINNER IS MUALI!" the announcer cried out after the dark skinned man knocked his opponent out. Bringing his arms across his chest, Muali had a smug look on his face. The boxer was just not a challenge to his prowess, bordering on embarrassment. If the rest of the tournament was like this, he'd be holding that belt in no time.

Leaving the ring, Muali said to monks rushing to help Rockie out "Give the weakling my regards."

However, when he had said that, Videl had been within hearing distance, a scowl working onto her face. How could that guy be so cold to a guy who fought him with everything he had? This Muali guy better lose before she got to him; otherwise he'd be leaving the stadium in a body cast.

"AND NOW FOLKS, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR NEXT FIGHTERS!" the announcer said as the crowd roared its approval. "FIRST UP IS MIGHTY MASK! HE LOST IN THE FIRST ROUND HIS LAST TIME IN THE TOURNAMENT. HOPEFULLY HE'LL HAVE BETTER LUCK THIS TIME!"

"AND FACING HIM WILL BE KILLA! THIS FIGHTER MANAGED TO MAKE IT TO THE SECOND ROUND THE LAST TOURNAMENT, LOSING TO THE CHAMP HIMSELF. WE'LL SEE IF HE DOES BETTER THIS YEAR!"

Both fighters went to their places, Mighty Mask standing at ease while Killa hopped from one foot to the other, his arms up like a boxer's. Smirking, Killa knew this fight would be his, considering that his opponent had never gone beyond the first round in any tournament. A cakewalk if anything.

"AND LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" the announcer shouted.

Charging, Killa let out a war cry, ready to knock out his disguised opponent quickly. However, just as he threw his first punch, Mighty Mask simply drew his left arm across his chest, then flung it out, delivering a backhand to Killa's face.

While the blow was simple enough, the power behind it was anything but. Once it made contact, Killa was sent flying out of the ring, slamming into the wall with enough force to implant the fighter into it; cracks spreading all around the impacted area. A dazed look was on Killa's face, incoherent sounds leaking from his mouth.

"AND MIGHTY MASK IS THE WINNER!"

Completely surprised, Videl was trying to process this last match. There was no way Mighty Mask had that kind of power, at least he didn't have it before. True he could've accumulated it between the previous tournament and this one, but the Satan girl had her doubts. Plus, Killa wasn't an opponent that would be dealt with so easily, even giving her father a run for his money before the eventual champ got the upper hand.

Maybe it was possible that Killa had been slacking off? That seemed to be the only reasonable answer she could think of. Smirking, Videl couldn't help but think that this fight would be quite a wake up call for the other fighters. Goes to show you can't put off training because of previous results.

"MOVING RIGHT ALONG, LET'S MEET OUR NEXT FIGHTERS! LI JET AND YAMU!"

"Hmm, this should be an interesting fight, don't you think Saiyaman?" Videl commented before turning to look at the hero, finding him absent from his spot.

"What?! Where'd he go?!" the Satan girl shouted surprised, looking around for the caped bozo. Where the hell did he go? He was just standing next to her a minute ago.

Growling a bit, Videl turned to watch the present fight, a bit peeved. That guy better not have gotten too far since his match was coming up in the match after the next one.

* * *

"So you're fighting in the World Martial Arts Tournament, huh Gohan?" a fat samurai said, his arms across his chest.

"That's right Yajirobe," Gohan replied as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, you should've told me about it kid. I could've shown everyone there a thing or two," Yajirobe complained, leaning back against one of the thin columns of the tower.

The saiyan just smiled as he began shifting around on his feet. As far as he knew, his match was coming up and he needed to get back pretty soon if he didn't want to get disqualified. Apparently, Korin had done some spring cleaning around the place and had misplaced the tree that grew the mystical beans.

A perfect recipe to make a young demi-saiyan grow impatient.

"Don't fret too much there Kid, I've almost found it," Korin shouted from somewhere in the tower. A sudden crash came from below followed by the cat's voice again. "Well, it's not there. Better check some other place."

Blowing the air out of his mouth, Gohan could only wait as Korin searched his tower for the beans.

* * *

To R: Oy, another short one. Sorry about that. My notes called for it though and there wasn't much I could do to change it. Just checked my next one though and that should have some meat on it.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	8. Chapter 8

Yay! I finally got a decent lengthed chapter! I feel so proud of myself. Hope ya'll enjoy.

* * *

Yamu walked into the fighter's waiting area with two enraged blue eyes trained on him. How that guy could call his fight a fight at all was outrageous! He practically tortured the guy out there until he tossed him out of the ring. Another guy Videl was gonna have to put in his place before this tournament was all said and done.

However, those dark thoughts were soon replaced when two names were announced, one of them especially.

"UP NEXT IS HULKEN VS SHARPNER!"

Videl's brain had to make a U-turn when she heard that. Sharpner's match was next? Well, it should be a short one considering who he was fighting. The blond wouldn't make it out of the round alive…hopefully.

"You hear that Videl? My match is up," the so called suave blond said as he stopped right next to her. "Don't worry about me; I should be able to handle this guy, no problem. Then it'll be your dad and me going at it for you. Bet you can't wait for that."

The Satan girl merely rolled her eyes. "Right, I'm _so_ looking forward to that."

Sharpner brushed his hand through his hair as he smirked. "Wish me luck babe."

"Break a leg…both of them."

* * *

Standing in the ring with the green painted crazy man, Sharpner cracked his knuckles as he prepared to fight. All he had to do was win this fight and he would be one step closer than ever to dating the most desired girl in Orange Star High.

Perhaps the whole world.

"Alright Sharpner, you can do this. You're the best boxer in the Orange Star Boxing Club. There's no way you can lose this match," the blond said to himself, psyching himself up.

"AND LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"

Immediately giving out a war cry, Sharpner charged at Hulken, ready to dish out some pain. However, Hulken sidestepped the blond, tripping him as he went by.

Sharpner fell to the ground, catching himself with his hands. Turning his head to look at his opponent, he found the guy chasing butterflies around the ring.

Sweatdropping, Sharpner yelled out "Hey! We've got a match idiot!"

Hulken, however, didn't seem to hear the blond. Although the butterflies had been fun to chase after, something else had caught his short attention span. A colorful flower was growing close to the ring and the guy couldn't resist squatting next to the thing.

That is, squatting next to it outside of the ring.

"AND THE WINNER IS SHARPNER BY RINGOUT!" the announcer shouted to a nearly quiet crowd; one lone fan, making as much noise as she possibly could, cheering about how great a martial artist her son was.

Soon enough, the rest of the crowd began clapping

Raising both arms into the air, Sharpner soaked in all of the applauses. He was one step closer to dating the girl of his dreams. All that needed to happen was for Hercule to win his match, which he had no doubt he would, and then defeat the man.

Turning towards the waiting area, the blond flashed his most charming smile at the girl in the doorway. Although she seemed to be looking very annoyed, it could've just been the distance between them that made her look like that. Yeah, that had to be it!

"AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! OUR UP COMING MATCH WITH THE WORLD CHAMP; HERCULE SATAN!"

A loud roar rang throughout the stadium, drowning out the announcer's calling of the Great Saiyaman.

Amazingly enough, the moment that Hercule had appeared, the crowd got even louder, showering the man with praise with every heavy foot step he took.

* * *

Smirking, Videl watched her dad in his element, proud for the man who accomplished what no one else had. This would be the ultimate challenge for that Saiyaguy; that is if he showed up. Where was he anyway? He couldn't be in the restroom this long. No one could pee for an hour!

Fortunately for the hero guy, her father seemed to keep the audience's attention completely on him, making them ignore the fact that the afroed man's opponent had yet to show up.

But soon, Hercule noticed Saiyaman's absence and began demanding that he show up, wanting to get his fight started. "Where's this Singing-Man guy?! How dare he make the Champ wait! Is he too much of a coward to show up?!"

This got the crowd on his side immediately as his fans also started calling for the guy's blood.

"So what's been going on since I've been gone?"

Videl nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that voice, swinging herself around to see the guy that had a death warrant on his head; who was holding a small bag in his hand. "There you are! Do you realize how late you are?!"

Looking out into the arena, Saiyaman said "I guess my match is up, huh?"

"You guessed right buddy. Now hurry up before a mob forms to tear you apart," Videl responded, pushing the hero out into the lion's den.

If he made it to the ring, maybe they'd get to see a fight.

* * *

Stumbling, Gohan managed to get his balance back before he fell face first to the ground. With that pending disaster taken care of, the saiyan placed the bag behind his belt for safe keeping. He had a fight to win after all.

"It's about time you showed up wimp!" Hercule shouted from the ring. It was at that time that Gohan realized that Videl wasn't kidding about that mob thing. The whole place was in an uproar about his tardiness and had placed an imaginary bull's eye on the demi-saiyan.

"You should be grateful you weren't disqualified!" Hercule continued. "The judges were about to kick you out when I told them you were just afraid of an eminent death. They decided to give you some extra time for that."

"Ahh, thanks Mr. Satan," Gohan replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Think nothing of it," the Champ said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"AND WITH BOTH FIGHTERS READY, LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"

Immediately, Hercule jumped into the air, flipping. Once he landed, he began throwing out a barrage of punches before swinging his leg out in a kick, shifting his foot on the ground to turn his body. Once his raised leg came back to the ground, Hercule threw a few more punches, then turned to the crowd and yelled, exciting all who watched.

All except Gohan.

Standing in the same place he was, the saiyan watched as his opponent showed off, sweatdropping all the while. Wasn't this guy just complaining about making everyone wait for a fight?

Well, might as well take care of business. Raising his arm, Gohan gathered his ki and sent a shockwave out, sweeping the People's Champ off his feet and blowing him out of the ring; Hercule landing face first on the ground.

For the second time that day, the stadium went silent, a lone figure cheering on the remaining fighter, though this one was a lot more excited than the last one.

"AND THE WINNER IS SAIYAMAN!" the announcer cried out, not missing a beat as everyone else was still stunned by Hercule's defeat.

Suddenly, monks came rushing out holding a stretcher, Videl right on their heels.

Sweatdropping again, Gohan scratched the back of his head and said "Oops...I guess I don't know my own strength, heh heh..."

"Tricks…had to be…tricks…" Hercule mumble incoherently as he was placed on the stretcher and then lifted into the air. At that moment, Videl glared at Gohan, a suspicious nature hovering in her eyes. Stiffening, the saiyan could feel himself sweating a bit more than natural when the Satan girl smirked.

"Catch you in the finals, oh Great Saiyaman."

As the pigtailed girl followed after her father, Gohan let out the breath he knew he was holding. Completely ignoring the complaints from some blond guy about not getting the chance to fight Hercule, the Son boy headed after the Satans at a leisurely pace.

Maybe if he disappeared for a bit, maybe he could avoid any wandering Hercule fans that might try to tear his head off. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

* * *

As the announcer announced the next match, Videl had finally caught up with her father, who had been taken into a private room due to his celebrity status. Sitting in bed with bandages being wrapped around his face and torso, the now former champ was crying foul.

"Did anybody see that?!" Hercule bellowed. "That little pipsqueak used some kind of trick on me! He must've planted bombs in the ring just so he could defeat me! If it wasn't for that, he'd never have stood a chance! I want that runt disqualified!!"

At this, Videl frowned. Though she had to admit that there was something fishy going around with that Saiyaguy, the way her father was carrying on was just making him out to be a sore loser. And he was the one that told her to keep up an image!

"Umm, dad?" Videl said, "You might want to watch what you say around here. You're starting to sound like a whiny kid."

"What are you getting at?" her father questioned.

"Aren't you the one that always tells me we have to keep up an image?"

"Well, I…"

"Besides, with the way you were jumping around the ring, I bet a stiff breeze would've blown you out had you continued," the Satan girl continued.

At this, Hercule got suspicious. If he didn't know any better, he would've said that his daughter was defending the punk that used those tricks against him. But didn't she hate boys? There was no way she would've come to the defense of one unless…

"I don't believe it," Hercule said softly, catching Videl off guard. "You like that kid, don't ya? You're in love with him, aren't you? How could you do this to me?! Falling in love with some scrawny kid!"

Videl looked like a deer in the headlights. How had her father come up with that idea? That was the last thing she needed at the moment, not with her own match about to go on. All she was doing was looking out for her old man and this was how he reacted?

"I can't believe you'd pick some punk's side and not your own flesh and blood," Hercule carried on. "Well, once this tournament's over, I'm putting you through home schooling! No way is that scrawny punk gonna get in my daughter's pants!"

The Satan girl's eyes widened. Her father was going too far with this. She needed to leave now before she lost her cool in front of everyone in the room, even if it was just her, her father, and a couple monks.

Turning on her heels, Videl left the room as her father yelled for her to come back. Turning the corner to head back to the fighters' waiting area, the daughter of Satan ran right into the subject of her recent conversation.

"Hey Videl, how's—" Saiyaman said before he was interrupted.

"Okay bub, you've some explaining to do," Videl snapped. "First off, you better not have used any tricks to beat my dad, got it? Second, if you did use tricks, what were they and how did you use them? Third, you better hope that one and two are wrong or you won't even stand a chance of fighting in your next match."

As Videl launched her tirade, the hero found himself pressed against the wall, startled by the outburst. As his back touched the wall, he looked around to see if anyone was around before grabbing the Satan's girl's wrist and pulling her after him. "I'll explain everything to you, alright?" he said. "Just not here."

Pulling her arm out of his grasp, Videl followed the guy to a secluded area and stood as he began his explanation. "Okay, what I did against your father wasn't a trick. I've never used one in my entire life."

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Videl nodded her head to signal for Saiyaman to continue.

"What I did use is a technique of sorts. I pretty much gathered my ki and launched it at your father. The end result of it was him falling out of the ring as you saw."

"Okay, hold it right there," Videl said. "What's this ki stuff and how can you use it?"

"Well, ki is the life energy of every living being," Saiyaman explained. "If you learn how to use it and manipulate it, you can do all sorts of things; like increased strength, speed, stamina. You can even use it as a weapon or—"

"Learn how to fly?" the Satan girl butted in.

"Uhh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Just call it a hunch."

After that, Videl studied the man before her, trying to see if there was anything that would disprove everything that he had told her thus far. After a bit, she finally said "Well, I guess you didn't cheat or use tricks. You might have to refrain from doing what ever it was you did though, alright? Right now my dad's throwing a tantrum to get you kicked out of the tournament."

Scratching the back of his head, Saiyaman said "Yeah, about that. I was feeling a bit guilty and came here to give you this." Reaching into his belt, the hero pulled out the small brown bag from earlier and put his hand into it, retrieving a small bean. "This is called a senzu bean. It should fix up your dad just fine."

Taking the bean, Videl examined it. "And how is this gonna 'fix up' my dad?"

"Umm, well…" Saiyaman said. "Let's just call it one of those 'tricks' your dad says."

Still looking at the bean, Videl said "Okay, whatever you say." And with that, the Satan girl turned around and walked back towards her father's room. The moment she was out of Saiyaman's sight though, Videl grabbed her shirt collar and the top of the sports bra beneath it and pulled them from her body. Dropping the bean between her bosoms, the daughter of Satan released her hold on her clothes and headed back to the fighters' arena. It was about time for her match to begin anyways.

* * *

"AND NOW FOR THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND! SPOPOVITCH VS. VIDEL!" the announcer shouted as the crowd roared.

As the two fighters headed towards the ring, the announcer said "LAST YEAR SPOPOVITCH WAS KNOCKED OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND AND HOPES TO RECTIFY THAT THIS TIME."

"FACING HIM IS VIDEL, THE DAUGHTER OF THE CURRENT CHAMPION, HERCULE! THIS WILL BE HER FIRST TOURNAMENT SO THE BEST OF LUCK TO HER!"

Watching the two as the entered the ring, Gohan became interested. This would be his first chance at seeing this girl's skill and probably tell him how much trouble he was in if he ever crossed her, assuming he already hadn't. So far he hadn't had to worry about her attacking him but if he pressed his luck, that might change.

"FIGHERS READY? BEGIN!"

Letting out a war cry, Videl charged at Spopovitch, each hand balled into a fist. Before she could attack though, she saw her opponent swinging a right hook at her; causing the Satan girl to duck the punch and then swing an uppercut, which connected on his chin.

As the large man stumbled backwards, Videl grabbed her fist with her hand and slammed her elbow into her opponent's gut, causing the man to bend over and lose his breath.

Jumping backwards, the moment the Satan girl landed, she leapt into the air and threw a roundhouse kick that sent Spopovitch flying until he landed on the ring.

It took a few seconds but the shaggy haired man got up and growled as he scowled at the little girl. Giving out his own war cry, he rushed the girl and began throwing his own punches; which Videl dodged by moving backwards. Soon, the Satan girl grew tired of that routine and grabbed the arm of Spopovitch's next punch.

Twisting her body around, Videl used the momentum of the intercepted attack and launched her opponent into the air. However, he managed to catch himself by slamming one of his hands onto the ring and using it to flip him onto his feet.

As the bulky man turned around, his world went black as Videl leapt into the air and landed on his shoulders; his head surrounded by the Satan girl's thighs. Bending backwards, Videl stuck her arms out and planted her hands on the ground, pulling the rest of her body with her as she threw her opponent with her legs.

'She's pretty good' Gohan thought as he watched. So far the match had gone her way and the saiyan found himself enjoying the fight. The last grappling move was pretty good and the Son boy couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Videl did that to him.

Unbeknownst to him, a blush started to grow on his face as a bit of drool leaked from the corner of his mouth. However, a smaller saiyan saw this and pulled on his brother's pant leg. "Are you hungry Mr. Saiyaman?" he asked.

Rushed back into the real world, Gohan shook himself and looked down on the squirt. "Huh? Why would I be hungry?"

"Cause you were drooling," came the answer.

The demi-saiyan's eyes widened before he wiped the drool off. Oh Kami, was he becoming a pervert?

Suddenly, a loud cry distracted both saiyans as Videl slammed her foot right in the middle of Spopovitch's face, knocking him out before he hit the floor. When the announcer counted to ten, he cried out "AND VIDEL IS THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT! AND WITH THAT, THE 1ST ROUND COMES TO AN END FOLKS. WE WILL BE TALKING A SHORT TEN MINUTE BREAK AND THEN START THE SECOND ROUND!"

As soon as the announcement ended, Videl came strolling towards Gohan and Goten, stopping next to the two and smirked. From what the girl could see, the tall boy next to her wasn't even looking at her. Probably was afraid after that number she did on Spopovitch.

In actuality, the thoughts the Son boy had during the match were coming back full force and Gohan couldn't look at the Satan girl without blushing. It was a good thing his nose wasn't bleeding yet.

Or was it?

"Hey! That was great!" Goten shouted as he hugged Videl's leg.

Smiling down at the little boy, the daughter of Satan squatted and said "Thanks. We're all in the second round. Better hope I don't make it to the finals if you want to win."

"Oh yeah? I can win this whole thing, no problem!" Goten announced, flexing his arms to show off how strong he was.

"We'll see about that. I won't go easy on ya if we do meet," Videl said.

And all the while, Sharpner watched the exchange, seething that it was a little boy and some disguised idiot that Videl chose to hang out with instead of his greatness. Well, he'd show them a thing or two.

Marching over, the blond would've caused some serious damage had he watched where he was going. Not seeing the harmless banana peel on the ground, Sharpner slipped on the skin and crashed into the ground.

Completely embarrassed by that stunt, Sharpner aborted his mission and figured he'd show those two whose boss in the ring. Yeah, that was ticket.

* * *

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	9. Chapter 9

The crowd was getting restless, which in the entertainment business was a very bad sign.

During the ten minute intermission, an inquiry was launched into the "controversial" sixth match. With Hercule raising a fuss about tricks and fake martial arts, the monks informed the judges that they would be investigating the ring for any traps and/or anything that could be considered suspicious.

And that was how a ten minute intermission was going on forty minutes.

"This is completely ridiculous."

Gohan nodded his agreement. After hearing the announcement of the delay, the disguised saiyan had walked over to the announcer and had a nice conversation with the guy. Apparently, the aged man was on his side, which was a good and bad thing. Good that someone believed in the demi-saiyan's abilities; bad that it was the announcer. If the guy even uttered a peep of his opinion, the whole tournament would be cancelled on the premise of bias judging.

Not exactly something you'd want to happen on your only day off from studying.

"They're not gonna find anything," the announcer said frustrated. "The crowd is getting bored and if we don't get this thing up and running again, we might as well cancel the whole thing."

"I hear ya," Gohan said. "I guess celebrity status can get you anything nowadays."

"True, true."

It was at that point that something unexpected happen. Sometime during the delay, Videl had gotten fed up with the whole charade and approached the judges' table. At the top of her lungs, the Satan girl shouted "Enough is enough already! You've checked the whole ring five times and have yet to find anything that could change the ruling on the sixth match! Let's get this thing going already!"

Visibly shaken, each judge nodded their head and gave a thumbs up to the announcer, who said "It's about time." Turning to Gohan, the man said "You probably should head back to the waiting area."

"Sounds good to me," the saiyan said relieved. As Gohan turned to head back, he suddenly had the feeling someone was watching him. Searching all around him, the demi-saiyan spotted Yamu staring at him, a not very friendly expression on his face.

As the two stared down, Gohan couldn't help this weird feeling building up in his gut. Then Yamu turned and walked back into the waiting area, disappearing inside the building. Frowning, the Son boy had the feeling he was gonna have to keep his eye on that guy. It was then that his thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming over the stadium speakers.

"SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT FOLKS, BUT NOW WE WILL NOW START THE SECOND ROUND!" the announcer said into his mike, much to the crowd's pleasure. "STARTING OFF, WE HAVE THE YOUNG BUT POWERFUL GOTEN TAKING ON THE NEW FAVORITE OF THE TOURNAMENT, MUALI!"

At this, both fighters walked out and entered the ring, Muali completely focused on the mission at hand while Goten shuffled a bit out of nervousness. Even after being in the tournament for as long as he had been, it was still unnerving to be surrounded by all of the people here.

"FIGHTERS READY? BEGIN!"

As Goten continued to shuffle, Muali closed his eyes and smirked, thinking 'I'm not sure how this little twerp beat someone like Pintaur, but he won't be defeating me that easily.' His eyes opening and his face twisting into a serious expression, Muali said aloud "I'll beat him with one blow."

Dashing towards the little boy, the dark skinned man readied himself to take the kid down.

Catching his opponent's movement out of the corner of his eye, Goten quickly forgot about the crowd and raised his hands in front of him. Mere seconds later, Muali's right fist was firmly secure in Goten's left hand.

Not deterred, Muali swung his other fist and got the same result as the Son boy caught that punch as well. Thinking quickly, the dark skinned man kicked out at his tiny opponent, who leapt into the air, seemingly hovering at eye level with the taller foe.

And then Goten swung his own foot out, connecting the tip of his foot with the man's chin and causing it to snap backwards. It was almost comical as Mauli seemed to be looking completely behind him, upside down, and his eyes bulging out of their sockets from the blow.

Slowly, the man fell backwards, knocked out from the simple attack. When the announcer counted to ten, he said "AND GOTEN IS THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT!" which caused the crowd to roar with applause.

Walking into the fighter's waiting area, Goten looked up to Gohan and said "Mr. Saiyaman? I'm bored. This tournament isn't fun anymore."

Gohan chuckled as he rubbed his hand through his brother's hair. "Sorry about that Squirt. You'll just have to wait to fight me to have a challenge."

As the two interacted, Videl could only look on with wide eyes. That little boy wasn't having any fun? He had just taken down two of the tournament's favorites to win the whole thing and he hadn't broken a sweat! Who was this kid?

* * *

"FIGHTERS READY?"

Standing in the middle of the ring, Mighty Mask and Yamu faced each other; each one ready to take the other out. This would be an interesting match to say the least.

"BEGIN!"

It was faster than the eye could see. It left everyone wondering what had happened. But one thing was unquestionable. Whatever it was, it resulted with Yamu standing in his place with Mighty Mask's fist implanted in the man's gut.

Yamu just looked as if he was in a daze before he coughed up blood, falling to his knees as he covered his stomach with is hands. Soon, he fell into unconsciousness, despite the immense amount of pain in his body.

Completely surprised, the announcer slowly said "And Mighty Mask is the winner…"

Soon, the shock wore off and the crowd was cheering, none of their attention on the fallen Yamu, who was being taken off with a stretcher.

Meanwhile, Mighty Mask was entering the waiting area again when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking, he saw that Saiyaman fellow looking at him, a serious look behind his sunglasses. Grinning, the disguised man just continued his walk, paying no more attention to his watcher.

It was that simple action that really got Gohan on high alert. Who ever that guy was, he had no fear of him whatsoever. If anything, the guy was enjoying the knowledge he had someone's attention. That and the fact that the saiyan couldn't get a read on his power level were combining to make a very troubled young man worried.

That was until Videl approached him and poked him in the stomach.

Completely caught off guard from it, Gohan couldn't help but giggle like a little school boy. Once his fit was over, a blush covered his face as he saw the amused look on Videl's face. "That was an interesting reaction."

"Yeah…I guess," the disguised saiyan said.

"Well, just so you know, your match is about to start."

That got the demi-saiyan's attention. "Oh, thanks," he said before heading off to the ring. He was still a bit clueless as to who he would be fighting since he hadn't really seen the match before his. What kind of guy would he be fighting? Knowing his luck, it'd be a Hercule wannabe wanting to get revenge on him.

Sometimes it just sucked when he would be right.

* * *

To Brenthforever: I just can't help making references to past fics. Its definitely something I plan to continue.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	10. Chapter 10

This was the moment Sharpner had been waiting. Well, not exactly the moment, but close enough. Just because the man he wanted to fight had been defeated already didn't mean he couldn't beat the guy who did. If this Saiya…whatever his name was could beat Hercule and he could beat him, then that meant that he would've been able to defeat Hercule and thus gain the privilege to date Videl. It all made perfect sense.

Now all he had to do was win.

Standing across from him was that Saiyawhatchamacallit in his weird clothes. Didn't someone tell the guy that sunglasses and bandanas were _so_ twenty years ago? And what was with the cape? Seriously, who was this guy's tailor? That person needed to go back to fashion school and catch up on their lessons.

"FIGHTERS READY? BEGIN!"

Screaming a war cry, Sharpner raced out towards the badly dressed fighter, ready to claim what had long been denied to him.

Throwing his fist, the blond guy was surprised when his opponent caught it as if he was catching a baseball. Then the guy used his other hand to grab him underneath his upper arm. Twisting himself around, the Saiyaguy lifted Sharpner from the ground by his outstretched arm and threw him through the air.

While that normally wouldn't have been a big deal, the Saiyadude, had thrown the all popular Sharpner towards the edge of the ring. That didn't bode very well when the blond saw his body fly over the edge and a sea of green grass waiting below him.

Panicking, Sharpner began flapping his arms wildly, hoping against hope that he could stay floating in the air and somehow get back into the ring. Hey, that's what all of his favorite Saturday morning cartoons did.

Unfortunately, that tactic failed him as the blond jock landed on the dreaded grass, ending his run for the hand of Videl.

"AND SAIYAMAN IS THE WINNER!"

Sitting there with his eyes full of disbelief, Sharpner couldn't believe that he could've been defeated so easily. It was like an insult, especially since the guy wore such a dorky outfit.

Slamming his fist on the ground out of anger and frustration, the blond boy swore he wouldn't give up; even if he wasn't in the tournament anymore, he would still win Videl over.

He just needed a plan to do so.

* * *

Well, that had been an interesting match, and nothing controversial to boot! Gohan smiled to himself as he entered the fighters' waiting area and turned to watch as the next match was presented to the crowd.

Presently, Videl and Jule were presently waiting for the announcer to give them the green light to fight; each fighter in their own fighting stance.

"BEGIN!"

Once the call was given, Videl took off as she yelled, swinging a kick at Jule's midsection. Leaping back, the blond man dodged the attack and launched one of his own, swinging a roundhouse kick at the Satan girl's head.

Ducking that, Videl fired off a couple quick punches into her opponent's open gut, connecting, and then landing a vicious uppercut to the man's chin that sent him stumbling backwards.

Recovering, Jule dropped back into his fighting stance once he regained his balance, this time with both of his hands straight like daggers. Taking a moment to relax his breathing, Jule then launched himself at Videl, jabbing his hands at her.

For the moment, all Videl could do was block or dodge each strike; never seeing an opening that she could take advantage of.

After awhile, the Satan girl finally counterattacked; flipping backwards as the toes of her boots nailed Jule under his chin again. Planting her hands on the ground, Videl pushed off the ring and landed back on her feet, and waited for Jule's next move.

So far none of his techniques had been working the blond fighter thought as he rubbed the throbbing from his chin. Perhaps he should try some grappling. It was worth a try, or so Jule thought.

Circling his opponent, Jule slowly moved towards Videl until he lunged at her. At the last second, the daughter of Satan managed to move out of the blond man's path, but not before he got a hold of her shirt.

Unfortunately for Jule, the shirt tore due to his momentum, rendering his grasp on the Satan girl useless. Leaping into the air to avoid any possible attack, the martial artist landed a ways from Videl, who was having trouble adjusting to her torn shirt.

Finally getting annoyed, Videl ripped her shirt off; her sports bra the only thing covering her top half.

This caused Gohan, who saw the whole thing very clearly, to feel something dripping out of his nose. Keeping his eyes firmly on the shirtless girl, he wiped his nose and ignored the blood stain that stood out on his white glove.

Meanwhile, Videl was growling her irritation with the match. So far she had knocked the guy's head around enough to give him whiplash and still he was on his feet. It was time to throw caution to the wind and let the guy feel her full might.

Running with all her might, Videl charged Jule and launched into a barrage of punches that he blocked. However, due to the number of punches being thrown, the man couldn't do anything more than block, throwing his counterattack option out the window.

It was then that one punch got through his defenses; one that impacted his chest. This caused the blond man to shift his defense down, allowing a harder punch to nail him in the head, dazing him.

Letting out a war cry, Videl leapt into the air and slammed a roundhouse kick into Jule's face, putting his lights out as he landed face first onto the ring surface.

As soon as the announcer counted to ten, Videl was declared the winner; the crowd going wild as the girl headed out of the ring.

* * *

Videl couldn't help but grin as she joined Saiyaman as he looked out towards the ring. Finally she'd get her chance to fight this guy and see what he was truly made of. So far his opponents hadn't proved to be the people needed to bring out his power, even if one of the men was her father.

However, there was something odd about the guy when she reached him. The hero wasn't looking at her for some reason with what appeared to be a blush on his face. But as far as the Satan girl knew, a blush didn't seem to gush out of someone's nose…

"Uhh, Saiyaman?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, nothing's wrong," the guy said, though his voice sounded a little weird. "Never better to be exact."

Videl frowned. "Well if you're okay, then why won't you look at me?"

"Well, I…uhh…" was all he could say. The reason why the Son boy couldn't look at her was because he was taller than the girl, which gave him a pretty good view of her cleavage when he looked down on her. "Umm…I…have to go…to…the bathroom! Yes the bathroom! I'll be back in just a bit!"

And with that, the costumed dude took off in search of the bathroom, leaving a very confused Videl. What was wrong with him? It was as if he was trying to hide something from her, just like his other secrets. Wait, that had to be it!

Saiyaman just had to have another secret and didn't want her to find out. Well, not on her watch! She'd just have to beat it out of him like all of the other secrets he was keeping.

Smirking, the girl couldn't wait until the moment she got what she sought. It was so close, she could taste it.

* * *

To R: I guess it was an alright chapter. Still too short for my tastes though.

To Chris: Vegeta huh? Thinking he always needs to prove his superiority I take it. Definitely an interesting guess.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the long wait. Here's you're beloved chapter.

On a side note, a fellow author on this site had made a fanart based on a scene of this story. Awesome, right? If you wish to see it, it's called "Why won't you look at me?" by Kisakun. I'm still giddy about it.

* * *

The roar of the crowd displayed the excitement building within the open roofed building. The World Martial Arts Tournament was winding down as the announcer announced the beginning of the first semi-final match.

Gohan, though, was a little bit concerned for his brother. Every fight his opponent, this Mighty Mask, had fought thus far had been defeated fairly easy. The demi-saiyan would've gone on to say there was more damage occurring to those fighters than what anyone could see since both contestants were not in the waiting area. The medical wing would probably be the first place to look for them.

So after giving some last minute advice to the young Goten, the older Son watch warily as the younger saiyan walked into the ring and stood opposite of Mighty Mask. Not even waiting for the announcer to start the fight, Goten dropped into a defensive stance Gohan recognized, putting him at ease.

Mighty Mask, however, looked more amused than anything. What could a little boy do to him what men four times his age couldn't?

"BEGIN!"

Just like last time, the masked fighter disappeared, looking towards another one hit knockout like his previous fights.

The sound of body parts clashing against each other was the last thing the fighter had expected.

With a fist extended, Mighty Mask could plainly see his smaller opponent had easily blocked his blow with a high block. What was more surprising was that the tyke didn't look like he had been fazed at all from the powerful blow.

Hmm, maybe this fight would be more entertaining than he had previously thought.

However, before the fighter could throw another punch, Goten threw his own attack, his tiny fist flying towards his taller opponent's midsection.

Fortunately for the masked fighter, the blow didn't make a direct hit; unfortunately, it did land on his side. Astonishment showed from any exposed hole in his mask as he leapt away from the small fighter, holding his side gingerly. That punch had actually carried some power behind it; a very unexpected turn of things.

This fight would definitely be interesting.

Goten, though, didn't continue his attack, choosing to drop back into his defensive stance instead.

That was when Mighty Mask rushed in again, this time throwing more than just one punch. In response, Goten blocked everything thrown at him, even throwing some of his own punches which resulted in his opponent blocking them.

The crowd was stunned with awe at this display of skill. Some spectators were even able to feel the wind that resulted from each blocked blow. Soon, their speeds began to pick up until they were nothing but blurs.

And then Mighty Mask landed a blow in Goten's stomach, soon followed by several more. The young demi-saiyan couldn't do anything about it as he was pummeled in his midsection.

Pulling back for one last punch, the fighter threw it and was surprised when the young fighter vanished from sight.

Narrowing his eyes, the masked fighter suddenly bent over just as Goten came flying in, trying to connect a strong kick to the back of the man's skull.

And as the saiyan lost momentum from his swinging attack, Mighty Mask twisted his body around and slammed a backhanded fist, sending Goten flying high into the air.

Then the most shocking thing of the fight occurred as Mighty Mask leapt into the air to give chase.

* * *

Videl was amazed. There was no other way she could put it. A seven year old boy was somehow taking on a fighter that was easily annihilating his opponents; yet the boy was holding his own.

It had to have been a dream. Yeah, that was it! A dream.

And to prove that this whole thing was a dream, the Satan girl pinched herself.

"Ow," she reacted.

Oh great, this wasn't a dream and that meant that a seven year old was really fighting better than most accomplished men ten times his age.

Could this day get any weirder?

Taking a quick glance at the only other person around her, she found Saiyaman and an unhappy one at that.

Wait, an unhappy Saiyaman? What was wrong with him?

Normally, Videl would've had no qualms with flat out asking the guy but there was something holding her back. His jaw was set rigidly as well as his hands tightening into fists. It was almost as if he was getting mad at something…or someone.

Turning her attention back to the action, Videl was caught off guard once more as Mighty Mask had knocked little Goten high into the air and then soon followed him.

Hold on, back up, he did _what_?

Quickly rubbing her eyes, and finding out that they weren't deceiving her, the daughter of Satan saw the previously incredible fight take to the air as Mighty Mask flew after Goten, who had also recovered himself and had taken off to meet him, and now were exchanging heated blows in midair.

"It can't be!" Saiyaman cried out.

Videl jerked herself to look at the costumed fighter. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"There's no way that guy should be flying. That's impossible."

"Excuse me," Videl retorted in skepticism. "You're one to talk. You fly all over the place without any trouble. Is that just you using a machine or something?"

"That's different," Saiyaman replied. "There aren't that many people that can do it and I'm pretty sure I know all who can."

"Wait, you mean there are really others?!" Videl nearly screeched. "I was just bluffing from before. How is possible that you know everyone who can?!"

What ever information-giving mood the masked idiot had been in suddenly evaporated as the hero seemed to realized just what he had been doing. "Uhh, now's not the time. I'll explain it later."

That caused the Satan girl to scowl. "Oh no you're not. You have a habit of telling me that and then finding someway to get out of it. You're gonna tell right now what I want to know or Kami help me—"

Suddenly a huge blast of air as well as a loud, thunderous sound occurred. Quickly turning her attention back to the fight, Videl was once again blown into astonishment as the in-air fight became more and more extraordinary.

Why, oh why couldn't this have been a dream?

* * *

Another punch collided with Goten's face, causing his head to snap back as spit flew out of his mouth. A knee then slammed into his unguarded midsection, causing the small saiyan to bend over the appendage as he lost the air in his lungs. A gloved hand then grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked him off of the knee, pulling him into the air as jolts of pain protested the hair pulling. The hand soon released its hold just as its partner in crime imbedded itself into Goten's stomach again.

Resisting the urge to succumb to the pain, Goten threw a hand towards his much larger opponent's stomach and fired a ki blast; one that caught the masked fighter off guard and covered him in a cloud of smoke.

Taking that opportunity, the small demi-saiyan put as much distance between himself and Mighty Mask, holding his stomach and panting loudly, one of his eyes closed shut.

What was going on here? How was this guy so strong? It was like fighting with Gohan only he wasn't pulling his punches. This guy had every intent on causing him as much bodily harm as possible.

Suddenly, Mighty Mask exploded from the smoke cloud around him, his hands clasped together above his head. Completely helpless, Goten could only watch in dread as his foe jackhammered him in the head and sent him flying towards the green grass below. With no way to stop his descent, the Son tried what little he could to prepare himself for the sudden stop at the end.

The expected stop happened, just not in the way he thought it would. With his eyes shut closed, Goten could feel he wasn't moving anymore yet he hadn't hit the ground, nor had the announcer declared him out.

Slowly opening his eyes, the young boy saw that he was floating above the sea of green below him. Moving his head around, he soon saw that Mighty Mask was standing at the edge of the ring with one of his hands wrapped securely around his ankle.

With a menacing smirk, the caped fighter flung Goten back into the ring, causing the little boy to skid on the tiled surface. A few seconds later, the demi-saiyan stood back on his feet, breathing heavily once more.

A suffocating silence had filled the stadium as spectators stood bug-eyed at the recent development. First people were flying in the air, then they were suddenly at the edge of the ring and one of the fighters had gone out of his way to ensure that the fight would continue. Was this some kind of mass hallucination or something?

"That would've made a lousy ending to our fight," Mighty Mask said aloud as he began walking towards the small fighter. "I rather we keep this match going for awhile. Its been some time since I had a fight I really enjoyed."

A stern look covered Goten's face. From everything his mom and brother had taught him about fighting, those were all the wrong reasons, especially with the brutal attacks this guy was dishing out. He didn't have much choice now of what he would have to do.

Focusing his power, he soon felt it skyrocket within him and a golden aura appeared around him. His black hair stood on end, taking on the golden appearance as his eyes became teal.

A roar of gasps filled the area as the audience watch the transformation; all except for a lone cry of "That's right Goten! You beat him up good!"

Even Mighty Mask had been taken back by this recent development, causing him to stop his march. Taking that opportunity, Goten then launched himself at the fighter, a barrage of punches of kicks flying from him.

Barely able to get control of himself, quite a few hits had landed on the masked fighter before he could start blocking. Though he managed to parry quite a few of those powerful blows, powerful strikes continued to get through his defenses.

Subtly, the two warriors moved towards the edge of the ring before Mighty Mask finally took off to a side, trying to put some distance between himself and the golden saiyan.

Goten wouldn't have any of that though as he gave chase, disappearing as he closed in on Mighty Mask. Surprise was the most obvious emotion on his face before a foot nailed him in the back of his head.

Stumbling forward a bit, Mighty Mask recovered his footing quickly as he swung himself around, attempting a backhand punch. The attack, however, hit thin air as Goten disappeared, reappearing right in front of the man's wide open stomach and once again launched into a barrage of punches; this time landing them all.

Winding up one final punch, the Super Saiyan threw the blow and sent Mighty Mask flying back a significant distance before he landed back on the ring, somehow still on his feet, though he held his stomach.

Cupping his hands, Goten brought them to his side and slowly chanted "Ka…Maaa…" A blue orb of energy soon appeared in his hands just as he said "Haaa…Maaaaa…" Faintly, the little boy could hear his brother cry out to tell him not to fire his attack, but for the first time in his life, he ignored him. Gohan didn't know how strong this guy really was and if this was what it took to take him out, then Goten would do it.

Then thrusting his arms out, Goten shouted "Haaa!" firing the blue blast as it raced towards his opponent.

And then the unexpected happened. Instead of getting out of the way of the attack, Mighty Mask pulled a leg back and then swung it at the beam, a short stalemate occurring as the Kamahamaha and the kick pushed at each other.

Then the unthinkable came to pass. Mighty Mask's kick won out against the blast and sent it flying high into the air, much to the shock of the crowd and horror to Gohan and Goten.

And even more terrifying was the pissed off looked on the masked fighter. "You little brat! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

Completely taken back by fear, Goten slowly stepped backwards before a knee suddenly hit him in his face. Thrown from his feet and into the air, Mighty Mask then grabbed the front of his gi and pulled him back just as he slammed his gloved fist into the boy's face.

A series of punches and backhands from the same face occurred as Mighty Mask relentlessly pummeled the young Son. Soon, the fighter had pushed Goten into the ring as he continued his beating on him.

Then with a quick twist of his body, the masked fighter threw Goten away, causing the demi-saiyan to bounce on the ring before he flew off its edge.

Once again, Mighty Mask kept the boy from landing out of the ring, appearing to his side in mid air and swinging a kick into his midsection, and sending him flying high into the air; only to be greeted by the man reappearing and swinging another back hand that sent him crashing into the ring once more.

Moaning in agony, the golden aura dissipated around Goten as he laid stomach-down on the ring; returning him to his original black hair and eyes, though you couldn't tell the last part as his eyes were shut tightly. That was when the sound of two boots landed next time him and the soft, malicious voice of Mighty Mask said to him "If you think this is the worst, I'll have you know that we've just gotten started."

And then a foot plunged into the boy's back.

* * *

This had gone on long enough. Racing out of fighter's pavilion, Videl made a beeline straight for the announcer who watched the match helplessly. Grabbing him by his suit, the Satan girl turned him to look into her furious eyes. "This is enough!" she yelled at his face. "The boy is being beaten to a pulp! You're the announcer here, right?! Now stop this madness!"

"I-I-I-I can't Videl," the announcer stammered. "No rules have been violated so I can't do anything."

Jerking him back to the "fight", Videl yelled "You call that a clean fight?! That's clearly excessive force!"

"I-I'm sorry Videl, but I can't," he replied.

"Oh, you're wrong about that," the girl responded with a deadly undertone. "You can and will stop this fight, even if I have to throw you into the ring to do it!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past her as a large piece of cloth landed not too far away from her. Turning her attention to look at the source, she was surprised to see that Saiyaman had left the pavilion and was standing in plain sight of the arena with a golden aura around him. Apparently that had caused his cape to come flying off as well as his ban…

That was when realization struck the daughter of Satan. The white bandana that had been covering the masked hero's head had been torn off his head and in its place was a stock of glowing blond hair.

All this time, her suspicions had been correct. This "Saiyaman" really was the Golden Savior. Had the circumstances been better, she would've celebrated this finding; but since the timing couldn't have been worse, she just remained in awe.

And if that wasn't amazing enough, there was a woman in the stands tossing spectators out of her way as she tried to get to the ring. A small thought assumed that this was poor little Goten's mother but that wasn't really important.

Slowly, her grip on the announcer's collar loosened and then released, dropping the poor man to the ground though the girl never gave it a second thought. Presently, there was a pissed off Saiyaman/Golden Savior, a murderous mother on her way to the ring, and a little boy being massacred in the ring. Between those three, Videl had never felt so helpless in all of her life.

* * *

"Get out of my way!" a thoroughly horrified Chichi wailed as she tore through the people in front of her.

This match was killing her, just as it was killing her youngest son in the ring. Who ever that Mighty Whatshisface was, she would tear him to shreds. She didn't care if that would've violated some of the tournaments rules or even break the law; that man was hurting her child and she would be damned if she allowed it to continue.

Reaching the bottom of the stands, Chichi didn't stop her momentum as she raised her leg and stepped on the small wall. Pushing off, she leapt through the air and landed on the grass below and kept running to stop the current madness.

However, a gloved hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her arm, putting a stop to her plans. Quickly looking to see who the wise guy holding her was, she was taken back when she saw Gohan in his Super Saiyan form. "Gohan! What in the name of Kami do you think you're doing?!" she shouted.

The sound of Gohan's voice that answered her was something she had never heard her oldest use before. It seemed to be a mix of rage, sorrow, and a few others the Son woman couldn't pick out at the moment. "You can't enter the ring."

"What do ya mean I can't?! That's my little boy in there and your little brother!"

"Mom," Gohan replied with the same tone of voice, "if you enter that ring, who knows if Mighty Mask will turn on you? I hate that Goten's going through this but I'm not gonna let you get hurt if I can help it."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Chichi protested. "I don't know who put that into your head but I'm going into that ring whether you like it or not!" Turning to look back at the ring, the mother shouted "Goten, hang on! Momma's comin'!"

However, Gohan had gotten a hold of her other arm as well and lifted her clear off the ground, even as the mother kept moving her legs. "Let me go!" Chichi screamed out as she struggled with her son's tight grip.

Suddenly, a loud siren went off, stopping everything that was happening, including the fight. Once the sound went off, the announcer seized the moment. "THAT WAS THE 30 MINUTE TIME ALARM!! I DECLARE THIS MATCH OVER IN FAVOR OF MIGHTY MASK!!"

A huge sigh of relief overcame the audience as Mighty Mask just looked around. Then turning his attention to the bloodied Goten, he picked the boy's body off the ring and tossed it towards the edge.

Managing to get out of her oldest son's grip, Chichi rushed towards the ring as her youngest bounced off the tile surface, continuing his forward momentum, and crashed into her open arms.

The damage to Goten, though, was more than the Son woman could bare. Blood covered nearly every square inch of his body and tattered gi. Odd looking bumps in various places of his body indicated that there were broken bones that were threatening to break the skin. All the while, Goten half moaned, half whimpered as he held his eyes shut and his mouth wide open, letting out the pitiful sound. Not able to contain herself any longer, Chichi broke out sobbing as she lowered her boy to the ground, holding him gingerly.

Oblivious to her surroundings now, the Son mother never noticed the sudden appearance of a pigtailed girl as she looked at the injured Goten. "Someone call a medic! We need a stretcher over here!"

In the meantime, Mighty Mask had left the ring, heading towards the waiting area. Seeing this, Gohan got in between the fighter and his family, giving him his best scowl as his aura roared around him viciously.

Taking noticed of this, Mighty Mask merely smirked and allowed a white aura flare around him before letting it dissipate. He had gotten the desired reaction as Gohan seemed stunned.

Taking his attention off the saiyan, the masked man continued his trek back to the pavilion.

As he let his aura fade away, Gohan was still in a daze. What had happened just now? Did that Mighty Mask fellow really give him a quick display of his power?

While that wouldn't worry the demi-saiyan on most days, this power he sensed was not what he expected it to be. It was like a combination of powers mostly; that of his father, Piccolo, Vegeta, and even Frieza. But that couldn't be right. The only person who had that kind of ki signal was long dead.

Yet that little display suggested otherwise.

* * *

To Mahina: While Videl may have it figured out, she still needs more evidence. It's one thing to think of knowing something rather than actually knowing. Thanks for reviewing.

To Kril-Bot: Well, Gohan is very nice by nature. He's not gonna blow someone off for being mean to him. He's more apt to question the rudeness rather than blow someone into smithereens. Plus, he hasn't had much interaction with people outside the Z Warriors and his familiy. So anyone outside his comfort zone would make him for socially awkward than anything. Hope that clears some things up.

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay Goten, I know you're in a lot of pain, but you need to listen to me," Saiyaman said to the broken child, kneeling next to him and his mother. "I have a senzu bean you have to eat. It'll make you all better."

From Videl's vantage point, she wasn't even sure if the boy had heard him. He must've though, since he seemed to shift his jaw a little bit.

"That's a good boy," the masked hero said as moved his gloved hand, holding one of those weird beans. Carefully putting it in the boy's mouth, Saiyaman removed it away and watched as little Goten slowly and painfully began to chew. Small crunching noises signify that the little fighter was successfully eating the bean.

Then with a swallow, Goten consumed the bean. Now came the important part for Videl: seeing if this bean actually worked.

It took a couple of seconds, but when it did, Goten's whole body shuddered and expanded. When it contracted, all of the child's wounds had disappeared, as if they had never existed. What ever pain he had been feeling had also vanished. With his big eyes open, he leapt from his mother's arms, a big smile on his face. "Thank you Mr. Saiyaman!"

That was when the boy's mother let out a loud sob and crushed Goten into her chest, her face buried in his wild hair. "Oh my Goten! I was so worried! Momma won't let that bad man hurt you anymore!"

Videl, however, was stunned into silence. Saiyaman hadn't been kidding when those beans could heal someone. Hell, Goten had been on the verge of death or looked like it, and all that was left of that beating was his bloodied clothes.

Good thing she had decided to "save" the bean she'd been given.

Then a slight movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning her head, the Satan girl discovered that Saiyaman had decided to move; walking Goten and his mother to the pavilion. Shaking herself a bit, Videl took off to catch up with them.

"—and don't, under any circumstances, go near Mighty Mask, understand?" Saiyaman had finished telling the older woman just as Videl caught up with them. "There's something about that guy that's not right and I don't want to give him another chance at Goten. I won't be long with my own match so—"

"Excuse me?!" Videl interrupted. "And what makes you think you're gonna beat me Saiyaman?"

Apparently, the hero hadn't expected the girl to follow them as he stiffened and slowly looked at her, his facial features revealing his nervousness. "Oh, uh, hey Videl."

"Don't you 'hey Videl' me buster," the Satan girl retorted spitefully. "Just because you can fly and do those light tricks doesn't mean you can beat me in a fair fight."

"Uhh, don't you think you're overestimating yourself young lady?" the mother then spoke up.

That caused Videl to frown. "No, as a matter of fact, I'm not. I'm the second strongest person in the world, behind my dad, so no special tricks are gonna work on me."

"Well, I think you're being delusional," the woman replied bluntly. "Your dad was beaten, fairly easily I might add, so there's no way in the world that you can beat my son, so you might as well give up."

"What are you talking about? Your son just lost."

The woman looked at Goten, who had made his way back to the buffet table. "Oh, you mean Goten. No I'm talking about him," she said, pointing at Saiyaman.

That caused Videl to burst out laughing. "You mean this clown is your son?! That's rich!"

"You take that back you hussy!" the woman nearly shrieked. "Don't think I haven't seen you following my baby boy around like a love-starved puppy!"

"I'm not a hussy you kooky old lady!" Videl shouted back. "Besides, why would I have any interest in a guy that wants to be a back up dancer?!"

"My son is not a back up dancer you boy wannabe!"

"Watch it hag!"

"Crazy bimbo!"

"Wrinkly ape!"

"Dumb pig!"

"Senile witch!"

"Short skank!"

The whole room became quiet, aside from the fact there were only four people there. "What did you call me?" Videl said in a deadly low tone.

"Oh, you heard me Shorty," the mother said, almost offhandedly.

"Lady, I'm gonna kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Suddenly, Saiyaman shouted "Will the both of you SHUT UP!!"

Both women were startled by the outburst, staring slightly wide eyed at the disguised hero. Who knew the guy had cajoles to mess with two of the most ill-tempered women in the world?

"Videl and I have a match to get through, so in order to get it done, I need you both to stop acting like three year olds and be quiet. Goten, hang onto Mom."

"Okay Mr. Saiyaman," the little boy answered happily; leaving the food table and wrapping his arms around Chichi.

"Now them, Miss Videl," Saiyaman said as he grabbed her wrist, "We have a match to finish." Not even waiting for anymore fireworks, the hero dragged the Satan girl out of the pavilion and over to the ring; the Son mother's shout of outrage following them as Goten held her at bay.

Regaining her wits about her, Videl finally decided that she had enough of being led around like a dog and tried to jerk her arm back. A slight shock welled up in her when she found out that 1) she couldn't and 2) Saiyaman's grip was like being in a bear trap. How in the world was this guy that strong to restrain her like this?

As they approached the small staircase to the ring, the hero released his hold on the girl and climbed the steps, heading towards the center of the arena before turning around to face her. Following his example, Videl stopped a little ways away from him.

"AND NOW FOR THE SECOND AND LAST MATCH OF THE SEMIFINAL ROUND!!" the announcer proclaimed. "SAIYAMAN VS VIDEL!! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!!"

Immediately, Videl dropped into a fighting stance, though Saiyaman chose not to. Instead, he tried talked to her; "tried" being the key word. "Listen to me Miss Videl, I can't allow you to fight Mighty Mask. I'd love to give you a decent fight but right now isn't the time. I hope you can forgive me for this."

That only caused the Satan girl to scowl. "You're assuming you can beat me Saiyaman. I can guarantee that you won't."

"You're still not listening to me!" the hero shouted. "There's something more important going on around here and its way over your head!"

That had been the wrong thing to say. Growling, Videl launched herself at her opponent, swinging a fist. When Saiyaman disappeared before her eyes, she had been a little confused as to how that had happened; that was until his arms had appeared right beneath her own and raising her body off the ground somewhat. With his elbows bent and knuckles pointing to the sky, Videl was in a little awkward position.

"Why can't you believe me?" Saiyaman practically demanded. "I'm trying to protect you!"

"I don't need protection!" Videl all but screamed. Raising her arms straight up into the air, the masked hero's hold became naught as the Satan girl slipped through it, landing crouched on the ground. Acting immediately, she spun herself around with a leg sticking out, planning to knock the hero's legs out from under him. Once again though, he disappeared from sight, appearing close to the edge of the ring.

Noticing her opponent's poor choice of retreat, Videl launched herself towards Saiyaman, planning to knock him straight out of the ring.

However, the guy must've used his disappearing trick again as he was suddenly right in front of her, catching her in yet another hold, this time crushing her against his chest as he wrapped his noticeably strong arms around her back. "I know you don't want to hear this but I'll say it anyway," he told her. "Once this match is over, I want you to get as far away from here as possible. It'd be better if you were with Goten and his mom too."

All the while, the fury the Satan girl was feeling was clearly writing itself across her face; a large vein popping up on her forehead. How _dare_ this guy write her off as if he had already won this fight?! She'd show him just who he was talking to!

Pulling one of her legs back, she then swung it forward; the kick making contact with the guy's most sensitive spot: his crotch.

It happened very suddenly. One moment Saiyaman was holding her, the next he had dropped her from his arms and was holding himself as his face contorted into that of intense pain. Ha! That would teach him to be a broken record.

And fortunately, because of the way Saiyaman looked to be holding himself, and the fact the announcer had the wrong angle of Videl's attack, she had just gotten away with a below-the-belt blow. This day couldn't get any better!

But now she had to finish this guy off fast. Jumping back a distance to give herself a better running start, Videl raced towards Saiyaman again, leaping into the air and landing a round house kick to his face.

Completely off guard, the masked fighter went flying into the air and over the edge of the ring. Victory was in sight for the Satan girl as she felt herself becoming giddy…

…only to have Saiyaman suddenly stop in midair, a few inches off the soft grass. Hovering for a moment, the hero moved himself back to the ring and stood hunched over a bit, panting a little as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. "Please…listen to me…" he pleaded with a slightly higher octave in his voice. "You need to get out of here."

"That's enough out of you!" Videl roared. "I'm tired of hearing the same thing over and over. I've handled you quite well and there's no way I'm gonna back down from a fight. Now if you can get that through your head, it'll make it much easier on your well-being, especially that soft spot of yours!"

Sighing, Saiyaman finally managed to stand tall in front of his smaller opponent. Raising a hand up, he called out to her "I'm sorry about this."

That was when a strong wind sprung from his hand and blew the Satan girl clean off her feet. She never once touched the ground until the pointed heads of grass covered her back. Momentarily stunned, it finally dawned on the girl what had just happened.

* * *

"AND SAIYAMAN IS THE WINNER!" the announcer shouted as varied reactions from the audience could be heard. Some were booing since they had been rooting for Videl while others just didn't like Saiyaman. There was some cheering mingled in it all, though.

"NOW BEFORE WE GET TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, WE'LL HAVE A THIRTY MINUTE INTERMISSION SO NONE OF YOU TERRIFIC FANS MISS THE UPCOMING MATCH!"

Throughout this whole announcement, Gohan had made his way towards Videl, hoping that she didn't take too much offense to her loss.

That thought had been a little too wishful.

Once had stood next to the girl, he had offered a hand to help her back onto her feet. Instead, Videl smacked the offering away, got back onto her feet, and stormed away from the demi-saiyan. Perhaps he needed to lower his standard for sportsmanship around these people.

Pushing that thought aside though, Gohan had more important things to worry about. Quickly, he made his way back to the pavilion and found the two people he had wanted to run into. "Hey Mom? May I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure Honey," Chichi replied.

"I need you to take Goten and get as far as you can from here," the saiyan said, completely serious. "I got a feeling that something big is about to happen."

"Wait, what do you mean big? Is this you being paranoid or is the world in danger?"

"Unfortunately, I think it's the second one."

That hadn't been the answer his mom wanted to hear. "What do ya mean that the world is in danger?! Why is it my family is always getting mix up with this end of the world stuff?! Did I do something bad in a past life or something?"

Refraining from sweatdropping, Gohan pressed on. "I'm serious Mom, you need to get out of here. If you run into Videl too, take her as well."

Once again, that hadn't been something the Son boy should've said. "You want me to bring that little hussy too? Gohan, what's gotten into you? Did that girl do something to you in the ring or something? That has to be it! She putting a spell on my baby boy, isn't she?!"

Obviously, this had not been the direction the demi-saiyan had wanted to go. It left him completely open to any accusation his mother could think of and that was a lot. Fortunately, he found an unlikely ally in his little brother. "But Mom! The pretty lady is nice! We have to look after her for Gohan!"

As if to insure that Chichi would do as he and his big brother wished, Goten pulled out his puppy dog eyes, looking at her as if he was about to burst into tears.

And that look crumbled the Son woman's resolve. "Oh alright, we'll take her along. Just be sure to take care of this mess and don't get hurt, alright Gohan?"

Smiling, the boy said "Yeah Mom, you can count on it."

"And just so you know, this girl better be a decent cook. I don't want my grandchildren to be all skin and bones."

The smile left Gohan's face as he stared at his completely serious mother with wide eyes. Where in Kami's name did she get that idea? Did she honestly think he was at all interested in a girl that was just as pushy as her? Trying to rebuff his mother's current line of thinking, all Gohan could do was sputter a response.

Not the response he had wanted.

* * *

To maz2: Fast is what I do or try to anyways. Thanks for reviewing.

To chris: Well, the original DBZ tournament was suppose to be about Gohan and Videl. Then the Majin Buu thing happened and everything went to hell. So to give this story a DBZ feel, it needed to be mostly about GV. That and they're my favorite couple.

RyRy tested; Mama approved


	13. Chapter 13

And now is the time you've all been waiting for. The moment where Mighty Mask is revealed. All the speculation will come to an end with one single instant.

Maybe...depends on how you read into the situation I suppose.

* * *

"Boring…nope…not a chance…maybe—not…no way…not in a million years…oh hell no!"

Staring at the flashing screen of channel surfing, Trunks was bored. He had already grown uninterested in his two room supply of toys and turned his attention to one of the nearest television sets. Coincidentally, that set was in the room next to the kitchen that was presently occupied by both of his parents, which was a rare feat in and of itself. With the way those two spent time away from each other, you'd never know they were a couple at all.

But that was the least of the eight year old's concerns. Presently, he wanted to find something that could entertain him for a little while.

And that was when he stumbled upon a channel showing the current World Martial Arts Tournament. If anything, it would give the little boy a laugh at how weak the rest of the human race was in comparison to him. Let's see…there were two people in the ring; a tall masked guy and a much smaller guy, possibly even a child.

Wait a second, that boy looked kinda like Goten.

Moving closer to the TV set, Trunks examined what he could of the newly deemed boy. After a few moments, the oddly colored saiyan confirmed that the boy was indeed Goten.

And at the present moment, he was getting grounded into the ring rather brutally.

"Mom! Dad!" Trunks suddenly shouted.

What ever his parents had been doing, they had suddenly stopped doing them as Bulma came rushing in alarmed. "What is it Trunks?"

"Look at the TV. That's Goten."

Turning her attention to the set, Bulma suddenly was at her son's side as she realized what the boy meant. "Oh my Kami," she gasped as she witnessed the massacre before her.

"What was that woman?" Vegeta suddenly piped up, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"That's Goten, Chichi's son, and he's getting beaten into a bloody pulp!" Bulma panicked.

Frowning, the saiyan prince looked at the box set and saw what the woman meant. A scowl soon appeared on his face when he noticed Gohan in the background in the suit Bulma had made for him. The fact that a golden aura was angrily whipping around the boy was the least of his concerns.

"So that's what the boy was hiding. Tch."

Seeing all he wanted, Vegeta turned around and barked out "Trunks, come with me." The order was carried out instantly, and almost enthusiastically, by his son. "We'll be back woman, after we find out what's going on at that tournament."

Though her first instinct was to argue Vegeta's choice, especially with bringing Trunks with him; the thought was pushed away as the genius instead rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the phone.

* * *

High above the Earth, a huge rounded platform flouted, watching the planet below it. A light breeze blew around it for a moment before it was gone.

That rush of air didn't bother one of its occupants though as the tall Namek looked down on the planet. Piccolo, the former demon king and other half of the previous guardian watched the current activities of the present martial arts tournament.

Normally the Namek would have nothing to do with such a thing, except that he had felt his one and only pupil's ki over there and thought he should keep an eye on him.

As he had expected, his pupil and little brother had wiped out the competition fairly easily. No problem there. However, what did have the experience veteran concerned was Gohan's interaction with a human girl, one called Videl.

Though he had never heard of her, she seemed to fluster the boy, causing him much discomfort. How she could do that was beyond the Namek, but then, this was Gohan he was talking about. The boy had little to no contact with anyone of the opposite sex so his ability to match wits with them was lacking.

However, that was nothing more than an annoyance when the one known as Mighty Mask had crushed Goten, especially when the boy caught Piccolo off guard when he transformed into a Super Saiyan. There was something seriously wrong with this matter.

"How's the watching Piccolo?" a young voice suddenly said to him. Without needing to look, Piccolo knew it was the youngest Namek on the planet, Dende. Pleasantries would have to put aside though, especially with this new incident.

Without saying a word, Piccolo launched himself off the edge of the Lookout, heading for the Tournament. Surprised, all Dende could say was "That was…weird."

* * *

The crowd was roaring with excitement, yet Gohan didn't hear them. The announcer was working his magic to get the crowd even more riled than it already was, yet the saiyan didn't pay any mind to it. He was completely focused on the task at hand.

Standing across from him on the ring was Mighty Mask. It had taken awhile, but the Son boy had figured out the mystery behind this man, and now it was time to put aside all and get down to business.

"You can take the mask off," Gohan called out to Mighty Mask. "There's no more need for it anymore."

"What's that?" the fighter answered.

"You heard me, take it off," Gohan replied. "We both know who you are…Cell."

Mighty Mask's eyes widen before they fell into a look of amusement. "Well, the cat's out of the bag I suppose."

Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from within Mighty Mask's clothes, causing them to blow up comically before they were incinerated. Once the light died down, there stood in all of his malicious glory, a blue incarnation of Cell.

Almost immediately, the crowd went dead quiet; stares of astonishment and fright overwhelming the audience.

With the same smirk that he wore seven years previously, Cell said "And since we're ridding ourselves of disguises, care to show me the same courtesy 'Saiyaman'?"

Weighing his options, the demi-saiyan saw no reason not to and obliged, taking off his sunglasses, the only remaining article of his cover.

That moment, though, caught the revealed Cell by surprise. "You're…you're Gohan, aren't you?"

"That's right," Gohan replied, letting a slight, confident smirk show. "I hope you remember what happened the last time we squared off."

The last look the Son boy had expected appeared on android's face. "Oh I remember alright. How could I forget the day you single handedly destroyed my brothers one by one?"

Once again caught off guard, Gohan blurted out "Brothers?"

The smirk returned to his face. "Oh, don't tell me you haven't guessed by now. Take a closer look at me; you'll figure it out."

What did this guy mean by that? He was Cell right? The monster responsible for killing countless people just to reach a form of perfection that he believed only he could achieve? A belief that ever cell in his body believed in from the toes of his feet to the top of his blue…

Wait a minute, blue?

Examining the android's body, he was indeed blue. But Cell was green, wasn't he? Never had he been blue.

And then a long forgotten memory made itself known; that of the originally green Cell producing seven miniature copies of himself, each one the color blue.

"I see then," Gohan spoke. "You're not Cell, but one of his copies; Cell Jr."

The deep baritone of the android's voice rang out in his haunting laughter. "I knew you'd figure it out! Chichi's done a good job making you smart!"

That caused the saiyan to scowl. "Don't you dare mention my mother's name!"

"Oh, so defensive. I'm sure Piccolo and Goku never taught you to be like that."

Fury was etching itself across the boy's face. It was only a matter of time before he'd snap.

"But making you angry wouldn't do, not for the fight I wish of you. I know! Why don't I tell you a story! That should calm you down! But what would be fitting for this occasion?" the android pondered. "How does the story of my survival sound? Yes, that's it! That's the perfect story for this perfect moment!"

* * *

Cackles of laughter erupted all over the ridge as each Cell Jr. beat and battered a Z warrior. None of those warriors stood a chance against their awesome might despite Piccolo taking advantage of knocking one of them out.

Yet their dominance wouldn't last much longer as a cry of pain and sorrow rang out across barren landscape, followed by a rush of wind and dust. With everyone in the vicinity caught off guard, their gazes drifted to a spectacular sight; one that rose hope amongst some and dread in the others.

There, standing by the evil nightmare known as Cell was a small, eleven year old boy. Tears leaked from his eyes for a moment before they evaporated in the intense rush of energy.

And then that sight was gone as the sorrowful boy disappeared and was replaced with a cold warrior; a hard look on his face as bolt of electricity bounded over his body.

"Yes! Finally you've come out of hiding!" Cell cried out triumphantly.

That earned him the attention of the boy as his eyes soon focused on the bag in his hand. With a deliberate movement of his arm, he snatched the bag from the android's hand, much to the creature's astonishment.

Then, not even waiting for the android's response, the boy disappeared from the battlefield and reappeared in midair, facing a small Cell Jr. as he was perched on the side of the ridge. Though appearing fearful, the mini-Cell overcame his fright and lunged at the fighter.

With a slight lean, the boy dodged the desperate move and then swung a hand, the fingers stiff and straight with the thumb curled into the palm. With that one swing, that one blow, the head of the Cell Jr. was sliced off of its shoulders and then burst into a cloud of dust, along with his headless body.

The shock from that simple action was enormous. "This is madness!" Vegeta exclaimed. "We've spent all this time fighting these monsters and yet he kills one with one blow!"

Similar actions followed shortly after. Each and every Cell Jr. committed a desperate move and was followed with a devastating blow that completely destroyed the creatures.

All except for one.

Lying on the ground, body full of pain, the little Cell stared in growing fear as one by one, his brethren was killed. Finally, committing his own desperate move, the child burrowed into the ground, digging until he felt he was safe beneath the fighting.

Hours drug on as his solid surroundings quaked from the explosive confrontation. If it wasn't for the cells from Frieza, the small creature wouldn't have lived so far down in the Earth's crust without the need for oxygen.

And then a rough tremor shook all around him. From the limited ki sensing he could do, there was a showdown occurring; one between his father and the golden monster. Any other powers out there were completely hidden between these colossal forces.

It seemed to go on forever, this struggle. It even got to the point where the Cell Jr. felt like it had been occurring since the beginning of time.

But then it suddenly stopped. Both powers seemed to vanish as one completely disappeared and the other dropped dangerously low and hovered there. The fight was over with one of the titans the winner.

Yet the Cell Jr. did not move. Instead, he stayed in his burrow, never leaving it. He wasn't too sure who the winner was but figured that if he stayed put, he would be sure that it wasn't an enemy.

An eternity passed as he waited. When the child felt that enough time passed by, he dug himself to the surface and headed to the closest place he could get to so he could find out what had happened with the fight.

Unfortunately, his father had fallen, though it was not to the man he believed it was. A man called "Hercule" had taken that title. Yet he felt in his "heart" that it was that little boy, the one his cells called "Gohan." Knowing his limit, he knew he couldn't exact the revenge his father demanded of him.

Instead the Cell Jr. headed deep into the mountains and once more immersed himself in dirt. Activating a sort of metamorphosis, a cocoon formed around him. The creature would bide his time until he could take on his enemy.

Years went by and before he knew it, seven long years had passed by when Cell Jr. rose from his sleep; his new body fully grown and energy starved. Nutrients would be needed to recover his power, and fortunately, the need of Androids 17 and 18 wouldn't be required as he retained his perfect form.

Yet where would he find the adequate energies? Humans, in his cells' experiences, were low on energy but high in numbers. A whole city might be what he needed but that would look suspicious, especially to the people he wanted to fight. Unfortunately, he wasn't in any condition to fight even the weakest of them and win. There had to be an easier way…

That way became apparent when he found an announcement for the World Martial Arts Tournament while feasting on an isolated village. Though not that great of a source, it would have humans with higher than average kis, which meant he would recover more power sooner than he normally would.

Finally, with a plan in mind, and after finding a man he could use as a disguise, Cell Jr. had a tournament to conquer.

* * *

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd run into you here," Cell Jr. finished.

Gohan, though, had a scowl on his face. Apparently he hadn't been as thorough as he thought he had been when he had destroyed the Cell Jrs. An error he would be sure to rectify.

"Well then, I guess you want to settle your vendetta then?" the saiyan spoke.

"But of course," the android replied. "Settling the score now would be quite pleasing."

It was sudden but direct. Not waiting for the fight to begin, Gohan immediately sprang into his Super Saiyan 2 form, bolts of lightning dance over his body.

"Then let's begin."

"Yes, let's."


	14. Chapter 14

Yes, you're eyes do not deceive you. This is the final chapter, and a long one at that as ya'll will find out. The longest I have ever written. This was how the story was laid out to me and I followed it as close as it was deemed necessary.

Enjoy.

* * *

Videl was trying her best to get back inside the stadium.

After her defeat to Saiyaman, the girl had stormed out of the place, none to pleased at being "shoved aside," or at least that's how that bozo had explained. The nerve of that guy! Didn't he know who he was talking to? She was Videl Satan, the second strongest person on the planet!

Well, not anymore anyways. That title had been stripped from her the moment she had touched the grass outside the ring. At best, she had a chance at third or fourth strongest now, though that fourth looked much more likely after Goten had demolished his own competition.

Deciding on going to cool off somewhere, where ever she felt comfortable, her mind had been changed at the sudden announcement on the intercoms that Saiyaman had discarded his disguise and that Cell had returned. With two very convincing reasons, the Satan girl wasn't going to miss that party for the world.

There was just one problem: the raging stream of spectators running for their lives out of the stadium. The outflow from the stands impeded her drastically much to her distaste. The current got a bit lighter though when she stumbled upon Goten's mother and a crazed one at that.

Apparently, the woman was trying her best to get through the crowd as well and was having a bit more luck than Videl was as she gave little to no concern of the people she physically removed out of her path. All that was important to her was getting back to the arena.

That was when a shockwave ripped through the air, causing a loud cry of panic from the fleeing hoards of people. The battle had begun between Saiyaman and Cell and it sounded as if things were getting pretty serious.

Then out of nowhere, a pair of arms latched onto the dark headed girl and pulled her tightly against the chest of some guy with her arms pinned against her sides. When his voice reached her ears, she knew her surprise capturer was none other than Sharpner. "Gotcha Videl!"

Growling lowly, the girl shouted over the noise of the people passing around them "Sharpner! Put me down this instant!"

"Sorry Videl, but I can't do that!" the blond shouted back to her. "Cell's on the other side of those doors and I can't let you face that maniac!"

In any other situation, those words would've meant something to the girl. Right now though, this was absolutely the worst timing the boy had displayed by far. At the moment, the man she had been tracking down for weeks was not only revealing himself but he was fighting the most nightmarish creature to ever exist. There was no way she was gonna miss this!

Managing to free one of her arms, she raised it high and bent it at the elbow. Jerking it backwards, the elbow collided with her high school classmate's nose, causing him to yelp in pain and release his hold on her to grab his smarting nose.

Taking that opportunity, Videl figured her best chance to get back into the stadium was to join forces with Goten's mom and toss spectators out of their way. However, before she could get too far, a much burlier pair of arms grabbed her and held her off the ground.

This time though, she didn't need to hear the owner of the person's voice. She could've been deaf, blind, and mentally challenged and still would've known that these arms belong to her one and only father.

Hoisting the girl up, Hercule placed her on his shoulder, allowing Videl to kick her legs against his chest and pound her fist against his back, screaming to be let go at once. "Don't worry Sweetpea! Daddy's here and he's gonna make everything alright!"

"Dad, you don't understand! Cell's back! And we have to help Saiyaman fight him! He won't stand a chance without our help!" Videl cried.

The response her father gave her, though, was not what she had been expecting to hear. "Daddy's sorry Sweetpea but there's nothing we can do for him! I know you won't understand it now but you will after this is all over! Now we're gonna get as far as we can from this place, before that monster destroys the whole island!"

Needless to say, Videl was stunned by this admission. Wasn't this man her father, Mr. Satan, the man who defeated Cell? If there was anyone who could beat that overgrown cockroach again, it would be him, right?

Yet, his actions spoke otherwise. However, the Satan girl was never one to back down from a fight, even if the odds looked to be against her. Reaching down, she gripped the white belt of her dad's gi and pulled, allowing her to slip right out of the man's "powerful" grip. Doing an impromptu flip, the daughter of Satan landed on her feet and started pushing her way back to the nearly insane Chichi, who had actually made some decent headway against the crowd.

Completely caught off guard by his daughter's maneuver, Hercule whipped around and made a grab at the smaller girl. However, his daughter proved to be a very wary prey this time as she suddenly swung her leg and nailed him in the face, sending him flying into a wall without hitting one of the innocent bystanders running by.

With all distractions accounted for and dealt with, Videl finally reached her destination and began helping Chichi deal with the onrushing crowd.

Meanwhile, Sharpner watched his crush heading into certain danger after handling her mighty father. Though he wasn't the smartest guy in the world, as he was well enough aware of, he knew for certain that there was no way Videl was gonna be stopped from getting into the arena. And now that she had combined forces with some other, equally scary woman, there would be no stopping her.

And all he could say to this was "Women…so scary…"

* * *

What was with these people?! Couldn't they see a mother was trying to get to her valiant son as he fought the ultimate evil?

Though she would never condone the use of her children to use violence, unless it was to help the greater good, the mother of two was in the midst of tearing countless people apart as she made her way into the emptying stadium. Any poor soul that met with her was thrown out of her way or trampled upon as she made her way.

Of course, things would've been easier if Goten were here. Her son though, had taken off just a little before it was announced that Cell had returned. Said something about sensing Trunks and his dad, the one known to Chichi as Veg-head. So that left the mother of two to face the crowd alone.

It had been steady going for awhile but then a sudden presence made itself known, helping her with her impromptu "crowd control." Sneaking a glance, Chichi found her accomplice to be none other than the hussy girl from before, a Videl as her sons called her. Apparently the girl was just as worried for her Gohan as she was; otherwise she wouldn't have joined in or so her reasoning went.

Hmm, perhaps she had been a bit hasty when she had insulted the girl before. She was proving to be a person of strong will, definitely a trait one needed when dealing with saiyans. Then there was the fact that she was showing some very decent fighting moves, some that even rivaled her own! Though she was a bit rough around the edges, it wouldn't take _too_ long to get her into ideal shape to deal with saiyan brood.

After all, it took a tough gal to handle half-breeds, she would know.

* * *

Two blurs raced at each other and met at the center of the ring, a shockwave blasting throughout the stadium as two fists collided. Not wasting time, the blurs shot up into the air as shockwave followed in their wake.

Punches and kicks were flying at high velocity between the blue android and golden saiyan, each blow being blocked, parried, and countered. The speeds in which both fighters attacked and reacted in were unheard of until that moment.

That fact alone wasn't something Gohan took comfort in.

True, the demi-saiyan hadn't expected Cell Jr. to be an easy match but he was caught off guard that the android was matching him. Telling from the look on the guy, a twisted look of strain marked his face indicating he was giving his all, much like himself.

Suddenly, the saiyan's fist got through his opponent's defense, making contact square in the android's face.

Taking advantage of that moment, Gohan spun himself around, lashing out a leg that connected with the blue fighter's head.

Unfortunately, Cell Jr. didn't move very far and reacted much faster than the Son boy had expected. After taking the kick, the enlarged insect pulled his own leg back and swung it out the golden fighter, landing the blow on the boy's face.

Then, as if in mutual consent, both warriors used their speed to disappear from sight. A sort of calm settled, but only for a second; the combatants clashing once more as shockwaves rang out.

Littered throughout the stands, spectators and camera crews, those that were left, watched in awe. Never in their lives had they witnessed something this colossal, something with this magnitude of power being displayed before their eyes. Though they couldn't quite tell what was happening precisely, the raging winds and thunderous sound echoing around them clued them into the fight's progress.

"I've got you now!" Cell Jr. suddenly shouted as he appeared in midair, both of his hands clasped together over his head. With a mighty swing, the android threw a jackhammer which landed on Gohan's head, who had almost magically appeared at the site of contact.

With that hit, the saiyan went crashing towards the ring, breaking the tile at his landing site. Though, just as quickly as he had landed, he had vanished, appearing over Cell Jr. and swinging a kick at his head.

Cell Jr. leaned his head forward, dodging the blow. Twisting his body to face his opponent, he launched into another barrage of punches and kicks, forcing Gohan to resort to blocking.

Unfortunately for the saiyan, the bombardment of strikes not only sent jolts of pain through his arms, but they even got past his defenses and doing more damage than he would've liked.

Quickly looking through his options, Gohan chose one as he started gathering his ki. Releasing it, the aura around the boy flared up stronger than before, sending a sudden wind that halted the android's attacks.

Using the moment's respite, Gohan charged his ki once more as he held both of his hands out in front of him; an orb of energy forming in front of his palms. With a cry, he fired his ki blast, the attack exploding over Cell Jr.

Once again taking advantage of the moment, the saiyan fired a few more ki blasts into a growing cloud of smoke, hearing the sound of his beams exploding within it. Tiring of that tactic, the Son boy then descended from the air, landing on the ring and looking back up at the cloud.

Despite the turn of events, Gohan knew he was in trouble. Fatigue was taking a firm hold on the boy and it didn't help him in the least that he hadn't consistently trained in nearly seven years. Subtly he began panting.

Damn it, this wasn't good. Seven years ago he wouldn't have felt like this, except after draining himself completely of ki. Seven years ago, he wouldn't have struggled like this. Though the fight had seemed pretty even, the demi-saiyan knew that he was giving it his all while this blue version of Cell most likely had some more reserves within him.

But that couldn't be helped. He couldn't magically recoup all the training he had missed out on the spot, so he was stuck with what he had. Whether or not it was enough to win was unknown but hopefully it would be. The boy didn't want to find out the hard way if he had come up short.

Soon the smoke cloud dispersed and revealed Cell Jr. with his arms crossed out in front of him. Lowering them, the android allowed himself to drift down to the ring and stand opposite of Gohan on the ring. "Not too bad Gohan, not too bad."

"You're not too shabby yourself," the saiyan answered.

The insect smirked. "Though, I believe you've lost a step or two. You don't seem like the fighter that so easily pushed my father around."

Before Gohan could respond to that though, the blue Cell seemed to recant. "But then, I could be mistaken. You did hide your real power from him so you could be doing the same thing here. Hmmm, I think that theory is definitely something to try."

Raising an arm, he extended his index finger and allowed an ominous red glow appeared. Not a word transpired as he fired the attack, one that Gohan recognized as Frieza's signature technique.

A sense of déjà vu occurred to the boy as he instantly dodged the attack and repeating the action as a few more flew at him. If he wasn't mistaken, the original Cell had done such a thing to him so long ago.

A sudden scream reached the demi-saiyan's ears though, immediately alerting the boy to the fact that he wasn't alone in the stadium. Jerking his head to look behind him, he saw a few of the remaining spectators being torn into shreds by the resulting explosions from Cell Jr's attacks.

That one move ended up costing the warrior immensely. With his attention diverted from his opponent, the mini-Cell landed a few of the Death Beams on his person, the attacks exploding on him. Instantly, the android charged in, slamming his knee into the ascended saiyan's gut.

That one blow caused Gohan to lurch forward, gripping his stomach as the wind in his lungs was forced out. Not paying any attention to his opponent, who had moved out of his way, the boy fell to his knees and held himself as he coughed.

The respite ended fast and rough. A powerful leg suddenly crashed into the saiyan's side, sending him flying off the tiled floor. He didn't get too far though as an elbow made contact on his chest, forcing him back to the ground.

Laying on his back, holding himself once more with his eyes clenched together, the boy felt slight vibrations through the ground as a foot landed on either side of him. That was when an onslaught of punches rained down on his defenseless form, beating him into a pulp.

It seemed to go on forever, the beating Gohan received. Sometime during though, he was pretty sure he lost his Super Saiyan 2 form as his hair and eyes reverted back to their original color.

The pummeling stopped soon after, allowing the boy to feel the extent of pain he was in. "This was too easy," he heard Cell Jr. complain. "I was truthfully expecting a better fight than this Gohan. I'm very disappointed."

The saiyan's eyes shot open and soon after, Gohan found himself off the ground and throwing a punch at the confident android.

The attack never made it though, as Cell Jr. planted a fist in the fighter's gut. Not wasting time, the android grabbed the saiyan by the throat and held him off the ground, a look similar to distaste on his face. "Is this really all you're capable of?" he demanded.

If Gohan had the strength or the air in his body to answer, he probably wouldn't have liked what he would've said. His body was completely taxed and too worn to go on. Shame started to well up inside of him.

How could he have let this happen?

* * *

The main purpose of a stadium was to allow thousands of people to watch live entertainment without the dreaded feeling of the structure collapsing. Architects and engineers spent many a sleepless night designing ultimate strength and security for these buildings, so as to avoid a defect that would send the whole thing crashing down.

Though there were some things not even these brilliant minds could account for, such as Mother Nature lashing out with storms that not even Kami could stop; any strain caused by the combine weights of all who stood or sat on it could and would be considered.

A battle of two titans that could destroy the planet was obviously one thing the builders couldn't prepare for. Throughout the massive complex, cracks were appearing all over the very support beams that held the building up. The tension placed upon it not only from panicking people, but the aftershocks of the mighty battle and the piling of dead bodies that were the result of the clash or accident of the panic-stricken crowds, pushed the threshold that these all important beams could take. It was only a matter of time before one or all of them would give out.

And unfortunately for some, that time was practically upon them.

* * *

"You, young lady, are a genius!" Chichi said.

"Why think you," Videl replied, feeling a bit smug. After the two women had managed to get through the fleeing audience, a passage that was reserved for the tournament monks and contestants appeared and gave the Satan girl the idea of using the qualifiers' entrance to get back into the stadium. Since there would be a small number of people in those corridors, the women would make excellent time without the hassle of people stopping them.

Soon, the pavilion's entrance to the arena appeared before them, allowing the two to rejoice in their choice. Though the roof seemed to be sagging a bit was a case for concern, it wasn't like they would be staying in the room for too long.

Bursting out into the open, Chichi had only a moment to catch sight of an incoming ki blast and dive out of the way. For the mother of two, that had been exactly what she did.

For Videl though, she was still inside the pavilion and had no choice but to jump backwards as the beam blew apart a support column.

That was the last Chichi saw of the girl as sagging roof finally collapsed on top of her, a scream ringing out from beneath the falling rubble.

* * *

A frown adorned Cell Jr's face as he looked at the beaten Gohan. Holding him off the ground by his neck, the android was a bit sad. He had expected more of a fight than what he had gotten, especially from the one who killed his father. One always hoped to drag out one's vengeance after all.

But that didn't mean he was done with the boy, not by far. Just like Cell before him, the blue bug had a need to not only display his power but to show his absolute dominance; and what better way to do that than to torture his father's killer? Made perfect sense to him.

That was when he felt two small powers approaching him. If his databanks were correct, one was the mother, Son Chichi, and the other that girl called Videl. Hmm, maybe some last minute theatrics would help sedate his hunger for a good fight.

Raising his free hand up, he aimed it right at the entrance to the waiting area, bided his time, and finally fired a ki blast in that direction.

As if on cue, Chichi appeared and caught sight of his attack at the last second, allowing her to dive out of the way. Videl, however, wasn't as fortunate as the blast trapped her inside the small building; the structure finally starting to crumble.

"Oooh, look at that," Cell Jr. commented. "Looks like the girl isn't going to make it."

That got Gohan's attention as his eyes shot open. Swinging his lower body up, his left foot planted itself right on the android's chest as the right one pressed into his armpit. Grabbing his arm with one hand, the saiyan powered up what ever last bit of ki he had into his hand and fired it right into Cell Jr's body.

The result was the last thing the blue bug would've expected as his opponent's grip pulled his arm one way and his blast pushed another; eventually tearing his arm off.

A loud scream escaped the monster's lips.

* * *

While not his first choice of action, it was gonna have to do. Finally freeing himself from the grip of Cell Jr., Gohan took off towards the collapsing roof, hoping that he would make it there in time.

Flaring his ki, his blond hair returned as he became a Super Saiyan.

* * *

This couldn't be happening, not right now.

Chichi scrambled back towards the fallen pavilion, praying that she could help the girl who followed her here. Dread filled her body up as a choked-up feeling gathered in her throat.

That feeling vanished almost immediately as she came upon the sight. There, hovering over Videl as she laid on the ground, was Gohan, straining to hold up the roof. Acting fast, the mother of two rushed in and grabbed the Satan girl around her shoulders, dragging her out of the mess. Gohan soon followed the two, allowing the roof to finally fall to the ground.

At least that was one death averted.

* * *

Never had Videl been that close to death.

Sure she had combated some of the worst criminals in Satan City, but having a roof almost crushing you was a completely different feeling. There was nothing one could do to stop it, unlike fighting a man with a knife or gun. The heroine of the city could just rely on her fighting abilities to overcome those obstacles.

Shaken, Videl turned her attention to a very fatigued Gohan. His breathing was very heavy as his body slumped. If that wasn't an indication of it, then the fact that the boy fell to the ground and lost that golden aura and hair was pretty obvious. Both women were at his side in an instant.

Before either of them could say anything though, Gohan turned his head to Videl, looking at her with his only revealed eye. "You…okay?"

Of all the things that boy could say at the moment, he wanted to make clear his worry about her? It was practically cliché of those corny hero stories as they protected people. They didn't make guys like him anymore.

But instead of berating him for it, Videl decided to put him at easy. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

"Good," he murmured before closing his eye and his body going limp.

"Hey, wake up!" Videl shouted. "This isn't the time for taking a nap!"

The sudden sound of footsteps confirmed that statement, causing both her and Chichi to jerk their attention to an approaching Cell J.; one of his arms covered in this dripping green slime. "Well if this isn't sad and depressing," he commented.

Leaping to her feet, Videl got into a defensive stance. "Don't you come anywhere near him!"

"Oh? What's this? Does little Gohan have a girlfriend now? Isn't that cute," the android mocked as he stopped before her. "Why don't you run along now? I wouldn't want to hurt you for Gohan's sake."

"I said don't come anywhere near him!" the Satan girl restated. That caused the blue Cell to shake his head as he chuckled.

Suddenly, his arm swung out, backhanding the girl, and sending her flying away. Without pausing, he then flared his aura around him, sending out a wind that blew a then lunging Chichi away. That only left him and a barely conscious Gohan.

Bending down and grabbing the boy once more by his neck, he returned them to their earlier positions. "Now where were we?"

Tightening his fingers, he squeezed the demi-saiyan's neck, bringing him slowly back into the world around him as he began to make gagging sounds. "Glad to have you back Gohan," he taunted. "I was just figuring out what to do with you too, and since you are the one that killed my father, I'm even gonna tell you what I came up with."

That was when his fingers clamped down hard on the Son boy's throat, causing an even louder reaction of gagging. "I'm gonna break your neck, slowly…and painfully…sounds good, doesn't it?"

The android then burst into laughter. "That's too rich," he laughed. "Sometimes I crack myself up!"

And then out of nowhere a foot connected with Cell Jr's face, causing him to lose his grip and fly away.

* * *

Gohan felt his body collapse on the ground. It was definitely a welcome feeling since he was just having his windpipe crushed.

A pair of feet sounded and Videl was back at his side, though her attention was obviously on someone else.

"So this is what you've become Gohan?"

Well that voice was familiar. Slowly pushing himself off the ground and onto his side, his eyes fell on the saiyan prince himself; who was looking down on him was what appeared to be a disappointed look.

"Glad to see you too Vegeta."

"Humph," the saiyan replied. "Seven years ago, this guy would've been cake to you. You've been slacking off too much Son of Kakarot."

"Hey, I didn't see you fight him!" Videl shouted in the boy's defense.

"And now you have a woman defending you? Pitiful," Vegeta nearly spat. "You've grown too soft in these times of peace boy. Now stand aside and let a real warrior deal with a problem you should've taken care of by now."

"Why you—" Videl began, but found herself interrupted by Gohan placing a hand on her arm.

Sighing, he said "Don't…he's right."

"What are you talking about?!" she practically screeched. "Did that oversized bug hit you in the head too many times or something?!"

Gohan shook his head. "No, I have been getting soft. I haven't had a solid day's training in seven years Videl. I was never in any shape to be in this battle."

A grunt from Vegeta indicated his agreement. But that didn't stop Videl from arguing with it.

However, the sudden arrival of Trunks, Piccolo, Krillen, and Goten did. Though she didn't recognize the first three, she was surprised to see Goten with them. She had practically forgotten about the little tyke. Must've gone to meet these guys while she and Chichi were kicking civilian butt.

Krillen approached the three, keeping his eyes on Gohan. "Well Gohan, you've seen better days, that's for sure."

All the demi-saiyan responded with was a weak smile.

"Well, you've done your part. Try and sit back and let us finish this for ya," the monk said.

Before Videl could explode at him though, Gohan grabbed a small bag. "Here's the last senzu bean. You might need it."

Nodding his head, the formally bald monk said "We'll get him good for ya."

It was about then that Cell Jr. reappeared and none too pleased. "Okay, which one of you was it?" he demanded. "Which one of you with the death wish kicked me?"

"That would be me," Vegeta answered, a smirk appearing on his face.

One look from the android told him who exactly the short saiyan was. "Ahh, Vegeta! I should've known that you'd be the only other person I could consider a threat. Though I doubt you'd be a challenge for me."

"Is that so? Well Cell, you better not underestimate me. I've been training for quite some time and I'm even stronger than the last time we met."

"Is that a fact? Then show me saiyan prince. Show me what you're made of so I can crush you."

That didn't sit too well with the arrogant man. "I'll make you take that back." Shifting himself, he began to focus his ki, a golden aura flowing all around him.

Then the transformation to Super Saiyan was completed, the familiar golden hair and teal eyes appearing. Yet Vegeta wasn't done. Letting out a cry as he continued focusing and increasing his power, a bright light covered the whole arena, blinding all who saw it.

When the light disappeared, bolts of electricity bounced all over the saiyan's body as well as his hair becoming spikier. After seven years of training, the form of Super Saiyan 2 had finally been granted to the last royal saiyan. With a smirk full of pride, Vegeta called out "I hope you're ready for this."

Then in a blink of an eye, the saiyan disappeared and reappeared with his fist imbedded in the android's gut. Unable to let a cry of pain, the look of a silent scream painted itself on Cell Jr's face. Striking again, Vegeta landed an uppercut to his foe's chin and sent him flying high into the air.

"Impressive," Piccolo commented as he watched the saiyan prince give chase to the flying android.

"No kidding," Krillen agreed. "Looks like Vegeta's got this one all wrapped up."

"What did you expect?" Trunks piped up. "My dad is the strongest man in the world."

A shockwave occurred then, almost as if in compliance with the demi-saiyan's statement. Vegeta had caught up with the airborne insect and had launched into a barrage of punches and kicks, ending the onslaught with a mighty punch to the android's face. It was that blow that caused the shockwave.

Not one to be beaten on, though, Cell Jr. quickly recovered himself and launched himself into his own barrage of punches; each of the strikes being blocked quite easily.

"Come on Cell, I thought you could do better than this!" Vegeta taunted as he caught a fist, refusing to let go.

That caused the android to growl dangerously. "I'll make you regret saying that."

"Not with your current strength Toaster Oven."

Before Cell Jr. could retort, Vegeta raised his free hand and fired a ki blast at point blank range.

However, Cell Jr. leaned his head back as far as he could, barely dodging the beam. Once the beam had passed, he then threw his head forward, slamming his forehead with Vegeta's.

The hit caught the saiyan off guard, causing him to release his grip and grab his aching head. Taking advantage of this, the android land a couple strong blows to the prince's unprotected midsection before clasping his hands over his head. Watching as Vegeta moved his hands to his now aching stomach and bending over, the oversized bug then jackhammered his opponent on his head, sending him flying towards the ground.

Vegeta, though, stopped his descent, hovering mere inches above the ring. Shaking off the blows, the saiyan prince went charging up to his opponent.

Smirking, Cell Jr. quickly powered up his ki, his own golden aura appearing; continuing to increase it as Vegeta drew nearer. With the power he was conjuring, he'd take out the arrogant saiyan as if he were an insect.

And that was precisely what happened. Every punch Vegeta threw, every kick he swung, all were caught, blocked, or parried. There was no need to dodge as Cell Jr. wanted to watch the frustration build up on his opponent's face. All that moving about would do would interrupt that show.

And the android wasn't disappointed. The prince of saiyans was slowly losing his cool with each missed attack. If the android's databases were correct, his foe would soon resort to ki blasts and burn himself out even faster. Perhaps he should postpone that prediction.

Fending off the latest punch of Vegeta's, Cell Jr. then launched his own flurry of punches and kicks, this time his blows hitting his saiyan opponent. What ever form of frustration that was on Vegeta's face was soon covered in bruises and cuts, each fist becoming stronger and stronger.

Finally, Vegeta flung out a shockwave of ki, hoping for a momentary respite from the hits. The moment was granted and long enough for the saiyan to go to his last resort as he began powering up ki blasts and firing them at his opponent.

Flames from several explosions covered the whole area the android had been as the saiyan pressed on with his attack. It got to the point where the flames licked at his gloved hands.

Then from within the blaze, a fist shot from it and nailed Vegeta in the face, stopping his barrage. Soon, Cell Jr. appeared without a scratch or burn on him; a smirk firmly planted on his face. "This is the end of the line for you Vegeta," he crowed.

Charging up his ki, a ki ball formed in his hand as he raised it over his head. Then with a swing, he slammed the orb of energy into the saiyan prince's chest, causing it to explode. The force of the blast sent Vegeta crashing from the air and into the stands, bouncing off the stone seats from his initial landing as blood flew from his mouth. Once his body settled back on the stands, his control over his ascended saiyan form collapsed; black hair and eyes returning to the original state.

A loud scream erupted as Trunks tore through the air towards Cell Jr., Goten following close behind. Turning his attention to the charging children, the android's smirk grew as he waited for them.

With a fist pulled back, the son of Vegeta threw the first attack, his fist begging to cause damage to the blue fighter. Instead, Cell Jr. shifted his body to the side, allowing the oddly colored saiyan to fly right past him with his fist extended.

Putting his full attention on the second child, the android drew an arm to his chest with his hand stiff and straight, the thumb curled into the palm. With a well-timed swing, he backhanded Goten in the face, changing his flight course towards the ground below. Unlike Vegeta's crash in the stands though, the youngest son landed in the grassy ground, creating a crater in the process as well as losing consciousness.

Turning back to look behind him, Cell Jr. was just in time to see Trunks charging him again. Indulgently, he allowed the little boy to swing several punches at him, each one never landing as he dodged the blows.

Finally, he caught one of the punches, much to Trunks' surprise. "I think it's time to send you on a little trip," the android taunted as he raised a hand to the boy's chest. A quick charge of ki occurred and a ki blast hit the demi-saiyan, carrying him away towards the horizon.

Well, that took care of those interfering with his revenge plot, or so Cell Jr. thought. That was quickly put to rest as a cry of "Special Beam Cannon!" roared out.

Turning his attention towards the ground, the small yellow beam with the swirling purple one raced towards him. Repeating the action he had used on Goten, the android swatted the signature move of Piccolo away, watching as the beam collided with one of the gigantic stadium lights and destroy it.

Looking back at the attacking Namek, the blue android saw him charging through the air. Smirking, Cell Jr. disappeared and reappeared a small distance in from of the green fighter, his hands clasped over his head.

Caught by surprise, Piccolo was helpless as the blue Cell jackhammered him in the head and sent flying towards the ground.

However, the insect wasn't done with him. Once again disappearing, he reappeared several feet above the ring, just looking out in front of him with a small smile on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

Then for some particular reason, he looked at one of his wrists and a look of surprise appeared on his face. "Is it that time already," he exclaimed to no one in particular before grinning evilly. Quickly then, he swung his body around with a leg extended, just in time for the appendage to collide with Piccolo's falling body and send him flying towards the oversized stadium monitor. An explosion of flames and glass erupted from the impact; Piccolo's limp body lying inside of the broken screen as smoke rose towards the sky.

Cell Jr. sighed. Finally his chores were done; his father would be so proud. He had defeated his enemies like the insignificant bugs they were. Even Gohan had been no match for him. Things were going to be the way the original Cell had imagined they would be.

Hold on a moment. Catching a slight movement from the corner of his eye, the android caught sight of the last Z warrior standing; the one called Krillen. If his eyes weren't deceiving him, the human was in the stands, running to Vegeta with something in his hand; a bean from what he could tell.

Well, well, well, if that pesky human thought he could change the outcome of this fight, he was sorely mistaken. Using a burst of speed, the blue insect appeared right in front of Krillen, surprising him. "Well, if it isn't Krillen!" he greeted the formerly bald monk. "I didn't think you'd show up, but I must've been mistaken. Allow me to extend my sincerest apologies for ever doubting you."

Then with a quick jerk of his knee, the android slammed it into the frighten monk, sending him flying back the way he came; his body crashing into the stone seating far away.

If the spawn of Cell wasn't mistaken, that one blow should've been strong enough to break the sternum in the Krillen's chest. My, weren't those humans fragile?

* * *

This was too much, or so Gohan thought. His friends, the people he had fought along side of for so long were being swatted around like tennis balls. None of them stood a chance, not even Vegeta. Damn it! Why hadn't he been strong enough?

With a balled fist, the demi-saiyan punched the ground beside him, causing it to crumble. Once again things were falling to pieces, all because of him. First with the arrival of the saiyans, then Frieza's terror on Namek, and finally the Cell Games. Why couldn't he have been strong enough, brave enough to stop those atrocities from happening?

"Can't you do something?" Videl said, nearly begging. "There's something you could do, right? I mean, you can beat this guy, right?"

"No, there's no way I can," he replied regretfully. "There's no one who can."

"What do ya mean 'no one who can'?" the girl demanded. "One of you guys did it last time. Why not now?"

"Cause Cell Jr's just too strong," the saiyan mumbled. "He's too strong for anyone here."

That response earned him a slap to his face, catching the boy off guard. With the Son boy stunned by the action, Videl pounced on him, knocking to the ground as she sat atop him with her legs straddling his waist. Grabbing him by his shirt, she pulled his shoulders and head up. "Look at them!" she told him. "Look at them all." With this she forcibly made him look at all his fallen comrades; Vegeta and Krillen in the stands, Piccolo in the monitor, Goten on the ground with Chichi cradling him against her.

"All of them are weaker than you, but they're still fighting! Every single last one of them are; and that overgrown troll doll thought he could actually win!" she shouted at him. "They fight even when they know they don't stand a chance! And what are you doing? You're sitting down here, moping because you can't get out there to finish him off. Did that stop the green guy? Did that stop your own little brother? No! And you're here telling me that it's all over, when you're still alive and conscious, watching all of your friends getting ploughed into the ground by that goddamned giant _bug_?!"

"But I can't beat him!" Gohan shouted back. "There's no one that can! Maybe my father could, but he's dead! What's the use of pointless fighting when it won't change—"

"And why the hell _not_? You fought the first Cell, didn't you? From what I've gathered around here, you were the one to beat him the first time, right?"

"Cell Jr. is stronger!"

Videl released her hold on him, disgusted as his head fell back to the ground. "Fine! Stay down here and whimper pathetically while the world is taken over by that blue cockroach. Don't try to do anything while we're all blown to little bits. Hang out here while he finishes off your mom, your brother, all of your friends. There won't be anyone around later to blame you, will there?"

The Son boy didn't reply, merely looking away so as not to look her in the eyes. This caused the Satan girl to growl.

"Be that way then. In the meantime, I'm going to go fight."

Getting off the grace fallen hero, the dark headed girl began her march to take on the seemingly invincible android. However, a hand grabbed her wrist from behind, stopping her on the stop. "Don't go," he said simply.

"Let me go!" Videl shouted.

"No."

This wasn't getting anywhere, at least for the Satan girl; that was until Gohan said "I'll fight Cell Jr. again. You stay here."

Then with a determination she hadn't seen before, the demi-saiyan moved in front of her and towards the enemy of the world. Even in his weaken state he would take him on. Not the most ideal way of fighting really. If only there was a way to return him to his full power.

And that was when the girl remembered the senzu bean on her person. That would even everything, right? "Gohan, come back!" she called out to him, but to no avail.

That was when a blood curling scream sounded off. Apparently, Goten had woken up and wasn't ready to call it quits. Escaping Chichi's grasp, the boy took off towards Cell Jr., ready to attack.

"Goten! NO!" Chichi screamed after him. Feeling a sense of dread within him, Gohan rushed towards the little saiyan, hoping against hope he could stop his charge before it was too late.

Unfortunately, that was the case. Looking at Goten with amusement, Cell Jr. merely powered up a ki blast and fired it at him; the blast causing the boy to fly out of control and in Gohan's direction. Not quite though since he flew right past his brother and even Videl, who started to run after him once he passed her.

With a fury he hadn't felt in years, Gohan launched into his Super Saiyan form and charged the android. "That's enough!" he screamed.

Cell Jr. though, thought otherwise. Raising his arm once more, the index pointed out, Gohan immediately recognized Frieza's move once more as dread filled him.

With a burst of energy, the small purple beam fired, flying past the saiyan and towards his fallen little brother.

It was as if everything was in slow motion. Even as Gohan turned his head to look behind him, a scream of pain rang out, though it wasn't Goten's voice he heard.

It was Videl's.

As his head completed the turn, his eyes fell upon the sight of Videl on her knees in front of Goten, a hole going straight through her back and out her chest as blood trickled out of it. Because of the force of the attack, her front arched out as if to continue the beam's movement. With her mouth wide up, the Satan girl spurted blood out as her eyes slowly glazed over.

A sickening feeling washed over Gohan. He hadn't felt that feeling in nearly seven years; the same feeling that had overcame him when Cell had smashed his foot into Android Sixteen's head. And like that time, a long forgotten emotion of uncontrollable rage filled him.

And then he snapped.

* * *

He felt it before he saw it. The whole stadium had begun shaking as an ominous power filled within it. Opening weary eyes, Vegeta came upon the sight of a bright light on the ring side with someone inside of it. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that was Gohan in there.

What was that brat up to now?

A similar occurrence happened with Krillen. However, due to the pain that was flowing throughout his body, he felt it was in his best interest to use his eyes rather than turning his head. Looking from the corner of his eyes, he came to the sight of small rocks floating high into the air until they disappeared from his line of vision, a bright source of light being the instigator of the entire thing.

Hey, if all you could use was the corner of your eyes, that's all you'd see too!

Sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the ring was Chichi, watching as Gohan was enveloped in the light. From what she could see, it wasn't the familiar golden light associated with the Super Saiyan powers that everyone came to know; more like a bright whiteness, any distinguishable color blotted out by its intensity.

Taking her eyes off of her oldest son, her sight fell upon her youngest, who had moved towards the fallen Videl, trying to "wake her up." If only it were that simple. That girl had willingly taken "the bullet" that was meant for her own son, costing her her own life. If there was anyone worthy of joining the Son family in her eyes, it was her, not that it mattered anymore…

Out of everyone there though, it was Piccolo who had the best view of the incident. Managing to move himself towards the broken edge of the monitor, the Namek's eyes fell upon the sight of his only pupil as he was shrouded in light, along with the floating rocks and pebbles.

But it was what he was hearing that caught his attention, more that what he saw. Inane mumblings were leaving Gohan's lips; things like "I won't…let him…get away…with this…" and "He'll pay…I'll make him…pay…" as grunts and growls filled the empty pauses. That was probably most worrisome to the Namek; the mutterings of an insane man, especially one with Super Saiyan powers.

All the while, the Son boy's body convulsed. Different muscles all over his body would expand to unusual sizes before contracting, jerking the demi-saiyan's body around. The golden blond hair that marked the ascension of Super Saiyan had been blotted out by the whiteness. Even his eyes had disappeared within the whites of his eyeballs.

Then with a cry of anger, madness, and sorrow, the light surrounding Gohan encompassed everything, blinding all who looked into it.

It seemed like an eternity that the light covered all. No one could see any further than the tip of their nose which made the thought of a blind Cell Jr. lashing out randomly very scary.

Soon though, the light dissipated, revealing a very different Gohan.

An eerie white aura surrounded him, giving the saiyan a ghostly appearance. The normal blond hair had been changed dramatically to a dim white, though the spikiness was still apparent. The lone lock that typically hung in his face had grown out as well. The most startling thing about the transformation though, were his eyes. They were a solid white, his pupils seeming to be nonexistent.

Other than those, his body hadn't changed at all. The same lean body stood for all to see; no increased muscle mass to speak of that typically marked the Super Saiyan transformation.

The same question echoed throughout all of his friends and family as they laid eyes upon him.

What had Gohan become?

* * *

Cell Jr. had to blink his eyes several times, trying to get the sting out of them. Why was it every time a "good guy" powered up, he had to show off so much? Seriously, they didn't have to blind everyone just to show people how powerful they were. Just look at him; he just beat the absolute crap out of people to prove his power.

Hovering in midair, the android looked down at the ghostly-looking saiyan. So this was his latest transformation huh? Didn't look like much.

Dropping towards the cracked tile of the ring, Cell Jr. landed not too far from Gohan. Noticing some more detail of the new form, the oversized bug nearly laughed his head off. This was what all that light show was all about? It was pitiful! And to think he had actually felt something akin to fear from it. What a crock this was.

Approaching the Son boy, the spawn of Cell couldn't help but take notice that the saiyan was subtly stooping over, almost as if he was tired or out of breath. Pathetic. What ever fight he'd get out of him wouldn't be worth the effort.

That didn't mean he couldn't taunt the fellow though.

"So this is your trump card, I take it," he said as he stood less than a foot away. "Not much of a card if you ask me. You look more dead than a corpse."

No answer came from the saiyan.

"So it's the silent treatment you're giving me? That's your best move? And here I thought this would be more entertaining," the android mocked. "But then, that little girlfriend of yours knows all too well how useless you are."

A slight twitching of Gohan's shoulder told the blue bug he had struck a nerve. "What was her name again? I could've sworn I had it memorized. I guess I was just too bored not to remember it."

A shift of his head up indicated a stronger acknowledgement of the saiyan. Cell Jr. was onto something here.

"Oh, I think I got it now! Videl wasn't it? Yes, it must be Videl. Shame she had to die though; I was starting to get fond of the girl."

That was when the saiyan spoke. It was low, not quite soft though. One could even call it a growl if they had heard it. "Don't…you dare…say her name…"

"You said something?" Cell Jr. mocked once more. "Speak up louder. I'm sure everyone wants to hear it."

"Don't…EVER SAY HER NAME!!" the saiyan burst out before a sudden blow, what the android had no idea, sent him flying. Concrete broke beneath his back as he crashed through the stands, tearing a nice sized hole in it. The next thing the android felt was a cold wind before he slammed into more concrete, that of a skyscraper. Yet, that didn't even stop his flight. It wasn't until he had left the island and was submerged beneath the ocean did he come anywhere near stopping.

* * *

That stupid bug was gonna pay, Trunks would make sure of it.

Flying back towards the stadium after finally getting off the ki blast, the son of Vegeta was pissed. How _dare_ that blue washing machine send him express? He should've killed him when he had the chance; not that death would stop the mighty eight year old.

It was on his way that he felt something odd occur. Some strange power had appeared, one he couldn't put his finger on. At times it felt as if this power was indistinguishable from anything he had felt before; at others it felt like he knew that power intimately. What was going on?

A moment later, the Brief's boy felt Cell Jr's ki signal leaving the stadium, heading out to sea very quickly with the unknown power on his tail. Something big was about to happen and Trunks would be damned if he missed it!

Altering his course, he headed towards the new battleground.

* * *

An island lush with life, untouched by mankind, sat in the middle of the powerful ocean. A mountain sat near its center as a forest sounded it, going up until the soil became the sand of a beach.

As the tide rolled up and down the shifting sands, the first foreign life to touch its shores arrived in the form of an oversized blue bug.

Coughing up seawater, Cell Jr. slowly recovered himself. The hit, whether it was a punch or kick, had been very powerful; a blow he hadn't been expecting.

Stumbling slightly, the android got back on his feet. There would be plenty of time during his flight back to the stadium for him to become completely oriented again; assuming of course that Gohan didn't follow him here.

That assumption proved to be wrong.

"It's about time you're on your feet," the saiyan called out, standing on the beach sand with his arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face.

Cell Jr. growled. Well, well, looked like Gohan got his confidence back. Apparently he had also been given a short term memory; otherwise he would've remembered the beating he had received earlier.

"So, you think you're tough, huh?" he replied. "Let's see how tough you really are."

With that, the android charged the ghostly saiyan, swinging a fist at him.

Gohan, in turn, merely tilted his head to a side, dodging the punch.

Before Cell Jr. could attack again though, a fist nailed him in the chest, not only startling him but causing him to lose his breath. Stumbling backwards, the blue android held his chest, coughing every so often until he leaned over, his eyes shut tightly.

"Quit playing around, I know you can take harder hits than that," Gohan spoke.

Of all the nerve! Turning his head to look at the boy, an enraged look appeared on his face, baring his teeth all the while. A deeper growl escaped his throat. That boy was just asking for another beat down, one that he would gladly give him!

Letting out a war cry, the android charged again, this time throwing a barrage of punches and kicks. Reacting, Gohan dodged the strikes, blocking them more times than not. Looked like his speed had been increased, the spawn of Cell noted.

Suddenly, Gohan sprung from the ground and headed into the air, breaking the pattern of the fight. Frowning slightly, Cell Jr. took off after him. Once he came into close quarters again, he began swinging more punches and kicks. Once again, all the saiyan did was block and dodge the blows until he took another moment to put distance between them, going higher into the air.

Frustration began to build up within the android, yet he gave chase once more and threw another barrage of strikes at his opponent.

Again, Gohan dodged and blocked the attacks and took his first opportunity to put distance between then as he went even higher into the air. Anger overwhelmed the blue creature, causing him to shout "Stay still you coward!" as he went after him again.

However, before the blue Cell could attack, the demi-saiyan lunged at him with a bent arm in front of him, slamming his elbow into his foe's face. That blow left Cell Jr. completely off guard, leaving him open for attack, which the Son boy took advantage of. Firing off his own barrage of punches and kicks, Cell Jr. was helpless to stop them as he was beaten like a rag doll.

Then with one final punch, Gohan sent the android flying down towards the lush forest beneath them, crashing through trees and into the ground; a cloud of dirt and smoke rising into the sky.

For awhile, nothing happened; only Gohan looking down on Cell Jr's crash site. He was up to something, that much the saiyan knew as he felt the android's ki starting to increased.

That was when a cry of "Gallic Gun!" sounded off, followed by a large purple beam flying towards the ghostly fighter.

Frowning at that choice of attack, the demi-saiyan merely moved out of the path of the Gallic Gun blast, seeing it flying high towards the atmosphere. However, once the beam passed, Cell Jr. appeared on the other side of it with a malicious look in his eyes and his fist ready to attack.

"I've got you now!"

* * *

"Looks like you'll live," Piccolo said bluntly to the injured monk.

It had taken several minutes, but the remaining Z warriors had managed to crawl from their impact zones, all except Krillen. Piccolo had been the first to reach the human and give him a once over before announcing his diagnosis.

"Thanks Doc," Krillen muttered. "I hope it won't hurt your feelings if I don't bring Marron to ya for her check ups."

The Namek grunted before looking at the broken stadium. "At least you have your life. The girl wasn't so lucky."

That put a somber mood upon Krillen. "I guess the senzu bean would be useless to her."

"You guess right. You might as well use it."

That was easier said then done. The monk struggled with that simple action as he reached for the little brown bag, wincing from jolts of pain running through his body.

Getting tired of the show, Piccolo took the bag from the human, dumped out the bean and put it in the human's mouth. Moments after chewing and swallowing it, the senzu's affects took place and Krillen was back on his feet.

It was then that the human took notice of Vegeta, who was standing off towards the ring as he examined the spot Gohan had transformed. "What's with him?" Krillen asked as he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the saiyan prince.

"Beats me," Piccolo grunted back. "Probably trying to figure out what exactly happened to Gohan."

"I guess."

Turning his attention away, it was then that Krillen fell upon a shattered Goten as he cried over that dark headed girl's body. Chichi had approached the young boy from behind as she stared down at the girl.

"We don't seem to have a good track record when it comes to everyone surviving battles," the monk observed.

That comment wouldn't have helped Goten's grief had he heard it. Having flipped the girl over onto her back, the little demi-saiyan held her head in his lap as tears trailed down his face. 'Why did they pretty lady have to die?' was the question running through his head.

A hand found its way into his hair and stroked it, trying to comfort him. Figuring that it was his mother, he was soon surprised when he heard Chichi gasp behind him. Turning his head, he saw his mother looking shocked, almost as if she had seen a ghost.

Looking in the direction she was, he soon found his mother's gaze focused right on Videl, whose eyes were semi-open, though pain was in them.

Hold a minute, eyes open?

"Videl!" the little boy shouted in relieve, burying his head into her neck. "You're alive!" he continued, though it was muffled by the girl's body.

However, strange sputtering sounds were coming out of her mouth, as well as blood. Looking at her, the little boy said "Don't you worry Videl, I'll take care of you."

The reaction he got wasn't what he expected. Instead, the Satan girl had turned her head as if to look at something, her arm stretched as far as it could as she grabbed at something. Following her gaze, the little Son soon discovered a senzu bean lying in the grass, just out of reach of Videl's hand.

Acting quickly, Goten practically dove for the bean, clutching it in his hands. Moving back to Videl he put the bean into her mouth as he said "Eat this Videl! It'll make you all better!"

Chewing the hard bean, Videl managed to swallow it and soon felt her body heal almost instantly. The next thing she knew, she was coughing roughly, even as Goten cheered her on.

* * *

That had been close, too close. After her coughing fit, Videl managed to sit up to look around but was nearly attacked by an overeager Goten, who had leapt onto her back, hugging her as tightly as he could.

Death by hugging…that wasn't a way Videl had ever thought someone could go but that seemed to be a great possibility at that time.

"Can't…breathe…" she gasped.

"Noooo!" the boy cried, releasing his grasp on the Satan girl. "Don't die Videl!"

Collapsing on the ground, the girl was sent into another coughing fit, though it fortunately didn't last as long. Once she overcame it, she slowly got to her feet, a bit wobbly but stable.

"Looks like the girl's made of tougher stuff than you thought," the monk commented as he and the tall green man approached. All he got was a grunt in return.

With no idea how to respond to that, all Videl could do was say "Uhh, yeah. Thanks, I guess." Staring at the two, she couldn't stop her curiosity getting the better of her. "Umm, could you guys tell me who you are?"

The monk smiled. "The name's Krillen and the tall guy next to me is Piccolo. We're friends of Gohan."

"And what about him?" Videl said as she nodded towards Vegeta.

"Oh, that's Vegeta. He's a friend…sort of."

"Okay, and could you tell me where Gohan is?"

Both Krillen and Piccolo looked at each other. "And why would you want to know that?" Krillen inquired cautiously.

"Well, so we can go help him of course."

"Ehh, that wouldn't be a good idea," the monk replied. "If what I'm sensing is right, he's in a middle of a fight right now."

"So? We can help him out!"

"But us going there would only hinder Gohan. He can fight better when he doesn't have to worry about us getting hurt."

That made Videl thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Do you think he can actually win?"

Sighing, Krillen said "He's our best chance right now. If he can't do it, I really doubt anyone else can."

* * *

Fire raced through the trees, consuming everything within its reach. Trees, bushes, and other vegetation caught flame almost immediately.

Two people suddenly went flying out of the blaze, appearing to be holding each other as they crashed onto grass that had yet to be set on fire. The couple wrestled on the ground before one of them, a ghostly looking fighter, was thrown off of the blue one, crashing into trees.

With a loud cry of rage, Cell Jr. gave chase after the saiyan, taking off into the forest canopy. Gohan, however, had recovered as he broke through several trees. Twisting his body, his feet touch upon a tall tree, allowing the saiyan to rebound off of it. With a fist ready, he slammed it into his incoming opponent, stopping his charge.

Though dazed by the blow, Cell Jr. recovered quickly; powering a ki blast in his hand and firing it at point blank range.

An explosion erupted around the ghostly saiyan, covering him in flames. High above the blast, Cell Jr. suddenly appeared with his hands in front of him, forming a triangle with them.

"Tribeam Ha!"

A bright flash of light engulfed the ground that his previous explosion covered. When the light disappeared, a large pit was revealed, wisps of smoke wafting from it.

"Ha ha!" the android roared. "Not so tough now, are you boy?!"

"Maybe if your aim was better, that attack would've worked," a voice spoke from behind.

That stopped the insect's blood in his veins. Slowly, he turned around and saw his enemy with a few burn marks and scratches on his body, but overall alright.

"You…why won't you die?!" the android shouted before charging at the saiyan, lashing out with countless punches. Without hesitating, Gohan launched into the fray.

Shockwaves rang out over the island as the two warriors landed and blocked punches. The immense forces sent high winds that tore the vegetation from the island; ocean waves rippled from the land, creating huge tidal waves off in the distance.

Bruises and cuts began to appear all over the fighters' bodies as they pounded each other. Spit and blood flew from their mouths with each head blow.

It was only a matter of time until the brutal stalemate came to an end. Sneaking in a knee, Cell Jr. slammed it into Gohan's gut, causing him to bend over it.

"I've got you now!" the android gloated as he threw a punch into the saiyan's face, sending him flying away. Not done by far, the blue bug flew after his opponent.

Recovering his wit, Gohan saw Cell Jr. flying after him. Gathering his ki, he fired a ki blast at his pursuing opponent. Caught off guard, the android was hit head on by the blast, blowing him off course.

Tumbling through the air, Cell Jr. finally got control of himself, straightening himself out as he hovered in air. Looking around quickly, his eyes fell upon his foe, rage writing itself on his face.

"I have had enough of you!" the android shouted. "I don't care about beating you to death! I'll destroy you and everyone on this worthless planet!" All the while, the spawn of Cell drifted higher in the air, angling himself to look down on the saiyan.

Sticking his hands out in front of him, he cupped them as he focused his energy, slowly bringing them to his right side. "Kaa…maa…" he chanted.

Frowning slightly, Gohan steeled himself. He recognized the scenario all too well. Cell had done the same thing seven years ago and the demi-saiyan would make sure the same thing that had happened then would repeat itself.

"Haa…maaa…" the androids voice grew louder as the blue energy appearing in his hands grew larger and brighter.

The next thing either of them knew, a ki blast came out of nowhere and impacted the blue android, exploding on his back and causing him to lose his focus of his charged blast, releasing the gathered ki.

Jerking his head, Gohan saw Trunks floating a ways behind Cell Jr., holding the wrist of one of his hands as he panted heavily. So that's where that ki blast had come from. Yet the demi-saiyan wasn't pleased at all. Trunks should've never been there in the first place; that was why he had taken the fight here instead of keeping in at the stadium. And from the way the little boy was breathing, it looked like he had used every bit of ki left in his possession, leaving him a sitting duck for Cell Jr.

There was no way he would let the young demi-saiyan get hurt.

"You little brat!" Cell Jr. roared. "I'll kill you for that! I'll tear you apart, piece by piece, until there's nothing left of you!"

Sure that his opponent had completely forgotten about him, Gohan charged in, gathering ki in one of his hands. Using a burst of speed, he disappeared, reappearing right in front of the spawn of Cell, and slamming his ki charged fist into his blue stomach.

True to Gohan's assumption, Cell Jr. had forgotten all about the ghostly saiyan, leaving him open for attack. When the punch collided with his midsection, his whole body bent over the saiyan's arm.

Then, letting out a loud cry, Gohan released the gathered ki in his fist, the energy exploding on the android and sending him flying into the distance, a trail of smoke following him.

* * *

"You guys hear that?!" Piccolo suddenly shouted, much to the surprise of the others.

"Uhh Piccolo," Krillen responded, "we don't have as good of ears as you do."

Seeming to ignore that, the Namek shouted "Everyone get down!"

Almost on cue, a body came bursting out of the stands, sending large chunks debris everywhere. A moment later, the body crashed into the ring, sending smoke up into the air.

Time seemed to slow down for the Z fighters. Whose body was that? Was it Gohan's? Or was it Cell Jr's?

Answering those questions, a figure descended from the sky, almost as if he had been high above them the whole time. A wave of relief flooded the small group as their eyes caught sight of the ghostly looking Gohan.

Touching down towards the edge of the ring, his arms crossed in front of his chest, Gohan stared directly at the crash site of what the others assumed was Cell Jr's. Their assumption proved to be correct when the android rose to his feet, albeit hurt.

"This is the end of the road for you Cell Jr." Gohan called out to him. "You've been beaten fair and square."

"I have not!" the insect roared back. "You can't defeat me! I am perfect!"

"Just like your father?" Gohan spoke. "You forget I killed Cell. I'll even show you how I did it."

Spreading his legs, the saiyan cupped his hands like the android had down previously, holding them towards his right side. "Kaa…maa…"

"Wait! Hold on a minute," Cell Jr. began. "You don't want to kill me, we both know it. You're too gentle for that, unlike the others. We can work something out."

Ignoring the small speech, Gohan carried on. "Haa…" A bright orb of blue ki soon appeared in his cupped hands, growing bigger and brighter.

"No! Stop it!" the android pleaded. "This is unlike you Gohan! You don't like killing; you never did! Why stain you hands with blood now?"

"Maaa…"

"Please Gohan, just let me go! You'll never hear from me again, I promise! I'll leave this planet and never return! I give you my word!"

An angry look covered the saiyan's face. "I've had enough of you Cell!" Then thrusting his energy covered hands in front of him, he released his blast. "Haaaa!"

A huge blue blast erupted from Gohan's hands, rushing out and consuming its intended target.

"Naahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Cell Jr. screamed as the large Kamahamaha tore him apart, piece by piece. Soon, not even a cell of him was left as the beam angled up into the air, heading towards outer space and beyond.

* * *

Smoke rushed around everything, causing anyone who inhaled it to cough. Videl was no exception to this. Gohan or someone that looked like him had just blown that replica of Cell into smithereens, and probably took out much of the stadium.

Though that explained why the smoke was all over the place, it didn't explain why there was something covering her. When the smoke had rushed over her, the Satan girl had shut her eyes to avoid having the stuff getting into them. Now that she had them open, there was a big piece of white cloth in front of us.

That, however, moved out of her way quickly. Looking at the person who had moved it, she found that tall green guy, Piccolo, standing by her. He must've shielded her with his cape when the blast had occurred.

Taking notice of her surroundings then, she found a similar scene with Goten and Chichi, though it was Goten shielding his mother. Krillen looked as if he had taken care of himself; the same with Vegeta.

Finally, Videl's eyes fell upon Gohan, who had returned to his original form. At the moment, he seemed to be deep in thought, standing tall as he looked down at the ring. Hurrying over, the girl had some questions she wanted to ask and this was as good of a time as any to ask.

"Gohan, that was amazing!" she shouted. "How in the world are you able to do that?"

The demi-saiyan stiffened in what looked like fear. Slowly, he turned his head around and saw the Satan girl. "V-videl…you're alive!"

A slight scowl covered the girl's face. "Of course I'm alive! You think some tiny little laser can kill me?"

Before the boy could reply though, Krillen had come in to give his two cents. "Don't worry Videl, he never had a doubt that you'd live. He's probably embarrassed with what he said."

"What he said?"

"Krillen…stop," Gohan begged.

"Yeah, what he said. I think it went along the lines of 'Don't ever say her name!'" the monk said, using a high pitched voice for his quote. "Never thought my friend would ever be interested in girls until then."

"Krillen!" Gohan protested, his face completely red from blushing.

"Should've known that he'd pick a cutie for a girlfriend," the human carried on. "His dad's tastes must've been passed on to him."

This time, it was Videl who spoke, a slight blush also appearing on her face. "Okay, I think I got the point."

"Well, with Cell Jr. gone, you two can get back to what you teens do."

"They did _what_?!" Chichi screeched. "My baby boy has been messing with girls without me knowing?!"

"No Mom, please!" the demi-saiyan protested. "Listen to me."

However, the whole line of conversation was brought to an end when Vegeta approached. "Gohan, mind telling me how you did that?"

That caught everyone's attention. "Did what?" the Son boy replied.

"The transformation, how did you do that? It looked nothing like the Super Saiyan forms."

"I…really don't know…" Gohan said after a bit, getting into a thoughtful pose.

Vegeta grunted, a bit amused if one paid any close attention to it. "Figures. You and I will need to have a talk about that soon. In the meantime, you can go mess with your girlfriend."

"Not you too Vegeta!"

* * *

"Good evening everyone, this is Higarashi Sota with the five o' clock news," a TV anchor said.

"Earlier today, the 26th World Martial Arts Tournament was held, drawing in a record number crowd to the stands. Fierce matches occurred throughout the day; some great; other's that will be soon forgotten; and some with incredible upsets. However, they all pale in comparison to the Final match where one of the combatants was revealed to be Cell, back for revenge on the man who killed him."

"However, our savior Hercule Satan was nowhere to be found; most likely leaving the island after his daughter, Videl Satan, had lost in the semi-finals. With our hero missing in action, certain doom was upon our world."

"The man who had gone into battle with the monstrous Cell was Satan City's other famous crime fighter, Saiyaman. After a vicious battle, the hero was defeated, leaving us without a protector."

"But according to eyewitness reports, specifically from one Videl Satan who was surprisingly there despite earlier reports, a man challenged Cell and defeated him, saving Earth from certain destruction. Little is known about this fighter, though he has been dubbed 'The Silver Fighter' by all who saw him."

"With the world safe, The Silver Fighter left as mysteriously as he came, leaving us with yet another mystery on the world's hands. Attempts to interview notable martial artists also proved futile…"

* * *

To Danyman: Well, you were right and wrong. Can't really forget that the saiyans have a knack for summoning up the needed strength to defeat their opponents.

This has been an interesting ride, if I don't say so myself. Many thanks go out to all the people who read and especially to all who reviewed. This fic wouldn't have been as popular as it is without you.

Special thanks goes to Ms. Videl Son who came up with this idea and allowed me to take over it. Otherwise, there would be one less fic on this site and that would be a crime in and of itself.

And now, I shall be putting most of my attention on Blue Angles. Hopefully some of ya'll well check that out as well.

Thanks again!

RyRy tested; MaMa approved


End file.
